Posted by Dinah on December 12, 2004, at 14:02:32
My father is in hospice for liver failure from cirrhosis. Hospice does not aggressively treat things like pneumonia. They seem to give antibiotics and oxygen and breathing treatments and meds to help him breathe. But it's not the same as having him hospitalized and treated for pneumonia. My guess is that he's more likely to die of pneumonia under hospice care than under hospital care.
Their attitude seems to be something along the lines of liver failure is a horrible painful way to die, and it might be a blessing if he died before end stage liver failure.
Yesterday my mother called them because Daddy was having trouble breathing and they came out to say that he had "turned" and was likely to die within a day if he didn't rally. After he did rally somewhat after the application of oxygen, it doesn't look like he's going to die in the next day. So the ethical dilemma I struggled with last night is put off, but probably not eliminated.
It would be so easy if it were a dog. When my dogs are dying, say, of cancer and they get pneumonia, I have the vet treat the pneumonia every bit as aggressively as if they had no other disease. But... I also know that when my dogs are in terrible pain, with only days or weeks to live, and that time in terrible pain, that I can have the vet euthanize them.
If I put my trust in the hospice, and my father dies, I will always wonder if my decision was responsible for his premature death. If I don't put my trust in hospice, and bring him to the hospital for more aggressive treatment for his liver failure, and later he is in horrible horrible pain while dying, I'll always wonder if my decision was responsible for his suffering.
Is it better to be a possible murderer or possible torturer?
(Explanatory addition. My father is not currently in any condition to give input on this matter. We have not discussed this precise scenario before. He *did* reluctantly say that he doesn't want to get CPR or be put on life support. But he also always called my mother and me murderers when we euthanized the dogs. My mother isn't much help. She claims to be as undecided as I am, but when I speak about bringing to the hospital she is decidedly opposed. Still, I don't think hers is a voice I look to for ethical guidance in this decision.)
poster:Dinah
thread:428310
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20041209/msgs/428310.html