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it because obvious that euthanasia happens in the US all the time [...] So the hospital withheld IV hydration and provided a morphine drip and he was
by JohnBooty 2y ago
it because obvious that euthanasia happens in the US all the time [...]
So the hospital withheld IV hydration and provided a morphine drip
and he was gone in 36 hours
I had a family member with late-stage terminal COPD opt out of further treatment. They were in respiratory crisis and were going to be intubated for the nth time with no real hope of recovery, and so they said "fuck it" and delined further intervention.
The hospital (a Catholic hospital, even) provided a morphine drip and they were gone within an hour.
I was never really clear on what killed them in the end, if it was the morphine or the COPD. I guess technically it was the COPD.
Anyway, as somebody who went through something similar: I'm so sorry. COPD is such a slow and crappy way to go. Have you been able to find some peace in the years since?
- dogman1050 2y agoI have, thanks. I'll always remember his last words to me, "You're a prince."
- JohnBooty 2y agoI'm so glad to hear that. We were able to have some closure as well, similarly... it was a comfort...
- airstrike 2y agoThat's a beautiful memory. I'm sorry for your loss.
- travisporter 2y agoThat teared me up
- toasterlovin 2y ago> The hospital (a Catholic hospital, even) provided a morphine drip and they were gone within an hour. FWIW, Catholic ethics are actually fairly well thought out on this issue. You're not allowed to withhold basic nourishment (food, hydration, non-invasive breathing support), but you are allowed to opt out of invasive procedures such as intubation and provide pain management if the patient or the patient's guardian decides that it would significantly affect quality of life and the patient doesn't have long to live. Obviously there is discernment involved in the last bit, but Catholicism is all about discernment. Here's the National Catholic Bioethics Center on the topic: https://www.ncbcenter.org/resources-and-statements-cms/summary-end-of-life-care https://www.ncbcenter.org/resources-and-statements-cms/summa...
- JohnBooty 2y agoThanks for that information. I have some major disagreements with the Catholic church but more knowledge and understanding is always a good thing. Appreciated.
- toasterlovin 2y agoOf course! I'm biased (as a Catholic), but I personally find the Church's moral stances to be fairly well thought out and systematic. But well thought out people starting from different axioms will often disagree with each other's conclusions!
- pcl 2y agoIt’s hard to ask this in a non-confrontational way, so I’ll just come out with it: How do you square that with the modern Catholic church’s systemic support of sexual abuse of minors? I mean this in the most inquisitive way possible. An organization’s what it does; the modern Catholic Church (leaders) have supported some horrible things. How do you separate out the good bits from the bad bits?
- person101x 2y agoFor me it boils down to this: the Catholic Church exists as a body of members who are all sinners- laymen and women, priests, bishops, cardinals, and the pope included. The clergy are simply functionaries within the church who serve very important roles, but are not sinless, perfect humans by any stretch of the imagination. The way of life the Church offers along with its teachings, are what you might be able to consider the "good bits". The "bad bits" are the members, who are sometimes clergy, who sin against God and against their neighbor.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- toasterlovin 2y ago
- anon291 2y agoWe're in a weird spot where the secular world asks us to simultaneously cause death (the euthanasia folks) while also asking us to evade it altogether (the Brian Johnson types). Catholicism embraces natural death, which is what your family member (RIP) chose. Interventions that hasten death are fine. Just can't cause it.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]