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you’re going to have a painful death with or without the tubes But I feel that was the main point at the start of the thread: if death is certain and going to

by tremon 2y ago

you’re going to have a painful death with or without the tubes But I feel that was the main point at the start of the thread: if death is certain and going to be painful, why must we drag it out? Why is that additional lifespan (measured in days) so much more important than comfort?

kqr 2y ago
The point is that it's not certain. With the medical assistance you might recover fine and live another five happy years. Is it really worth trading away that opportunity just to not accidentally die on a ventilator? I'm not sure.
- AlexandrB 2y ago
  There's a good article[1] on this topic that talks about how older doctors generally choose to forego lifesaving measures. I think about it a lot because it seems like when a professional who's in the best position to know the tradeoffs makes this kind of decision for themselves they probably understand the risk/reward better than you or me. [1] https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2013/03/how-doctors-die/ https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2013/03/how-doctors-die/
  - criddell 2y ago
    I think that's the article that made me change my opinion on CPR. When the hospital asks me to sign the form indicating if I want to be resuscitated, I answer no without hesitation. It's harder when my vet asks before operating on my dog, but in the end I made the same call for my dog that I would make for myself - do not resuscitate.
  - anonymouskimmer 2y ago
    Plenty of people who make the sausage don't want to eat it. I never wanted to go into medicine. Thus I do not believe the preferences of a typical older doctor represent my preferences in this respect. I read an article once of a nurse who kept CPR going on her husband for somewhere around 2 hours until they could get him to a hospital that was able to restart his heart. I believe he ended up okay. CPR obviously isn't invasive tubing, but it's still kind of hard on the body.
- LorenPechtel 2y ago
  It depends on the situation. If it's part of a long decay I would categorically refuse anything like that. If it's due to an abrupt and fixable thing give it a try.

by tremon 2y ago

kqr 2y ago

The point is that it's not certain. With the medical assistance you might recover fine and live another five happy years. Is it really worth trading away that opportunity just to not accidentally die on a ventilator? I'm not sure.

AlexandrB 2y ago
There's a good article[1] on this topic that talks about how older doctors generally choose to forego lifesaving measures. I think about it a lot because it seems like when a professional who's in the best position to know the tradeoffs makes this kind of decision for themselves they probably understand the risk/reward better than you or me. [1] https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2013/03/how-doctors-die/ https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2013/03/how-doctors-die/
- criddell 2y ago
  I think that's the article that made me change my opinion on CPR. When the hospital asks me to sign the form indicating if I want to be resuscitated, I answer no without hesitation. It's harder when my vet asks before operating on my dog, but in the end I made the same call for my dog that I would make for myself - do not resuscitate.
- anonymouskimmer 2y ago
  Plenty of people who make the sausage don't want to eat it. I never wanted to go into medicine. Thus I do not believe the preferences of a typical older doctor represent my preferences in this respect. I read an article once of a nurse who kept CPR going on her husband for somewhere around 2 hours until they could get him to a hospital that was able to restart his heart. I believe he ended up okay. CPR obviously isn't invasive tubing, but it's still kind of hard on the body.
LorenPechtel 2y ago
It depends on the situation. If it's part of a long decay I would categorically refuse anything like that. If it's due to an abrupt and fixable thing give it a try.