:-)
That's why I like these threads because we can actually talk with each other instead of past each other.
And it's why I'd love to see a survey about feeding tubes in general and wonder if the feeling about them is because some people have never seen a loved one go through this or if it's just a general distaste for the removal of them.
I can only tell you that I've seen a loved one go through this, without a living will. And my stepdaughter who works in a nursing home for 12 years sees this quite frequently. Some posters who work in hospitals have said the same thing.
Certainly cancer patients refuse feeding tubes frequently because eating, in any form, makes them sick. If I told you what my aunt went through whenever she had food, it would shock you. So she just refused it.
Morphine is given in these instances, even with massive stroke victims or brain dead victims. It's called a "just in case measure".
But I understand completely how others feel differently about feeding tube removal than I do and respect those opinions. If any good is to come of this entire debacle it is that people will think through these issues, make their wishes clear in a written document and make sure that family members know as well.
For me, if I am in a state that I'm not cognitive, I don't want to tie my family to me and would like to be let to slip away. Even if my body is healthy and it seems like once in a blue moon that I may be responsive. If neurologists say that I'm not, and everything that can be tried has been tried, I'd like to be let go.