I just recently went through such a counseling with my mother-in-law. I think it’s a good and necessary thing for people at the end of their life. The counselor who came was excellent. My mother-in-law is in the final stage of Parkinson’s and is in a nursing home. First, they asked about her wishes if her heart stops. This is cardiac arrest and nursing homes cannot do cpr, they have to call 911 to get an ambulance. The emergency personnel can then do cpr and transport to hospital. The odds of a healthy inidividual to come out of cardiac arrest is dismal but for an elderly person it’s even worse, something like 15% and most of them are in a coma. Next, they asked her about food if she can no longer swallow. One of the risks with feeding tubes for the elderly, is that they can easily inhale the food into their lungs and get a serious case of pnuemonia. If no feeding tubes are placed, the patient is still given liquids or IV’s and elaborate ways of keeping the mouth moist and comfortable. They do not experience hunger. This rejection of food is a natural process many elderly go through at the end anyway. Without their wishes defined, doctors must and do order all types of surgeries, proceedures, and medications costing hundred of thousands of dollars. Very few actually prolong their life more than a few weeks or months. End of life issues are just that, the end of their natural life.
Surely you don’t trust the Obama people to give your loved ones good advice, do you?
They will do everything to extend their lives (Kennedy, et al), but not yours, or your loved ones.
FYI:
A “Will to Live” is better than a “Living Will” and can be downloaded to be used, or just used as an example, from www.nrlc.org.
Always make sure you know what you’re getting into with a “living will.” For instance, if you say: “I don’t want to be on a respirator,” it could mean one thing if it would only prolong an imminent death for months or years, and another thing if it would only be needed for 48 or more hours after an accident, and one could be restored to normal health.
The Will to Live
When Marjorie Nighbert entered a nursing home after having a stroke, she did not expect to be starved to death, but that is what happened when she became a victim of her own “wishes.”
Like many people, she did not want her life to be prolonged when death was imminent. So Nighbert created a durable power of attorney (DPA), in which she gave her brother control over medical decisions in case she could not make them for herself. And according to the family lawyer, Nighbert said she did not want a feeding tube if she became terminally ill.
When Nighbert fell ill the nursing home followed the orders of the DPA and denied her food and water for two weeks. But then something unexpected happened: She asked to be fed. A court battle ensued, and the court ultimately upheld the nursing home’s decision to deny Nighbert food and water. According to the judge, Nighbert was not competent to ask for food, and to give her food would constitute “extraordinary means.”
Nighbert died on April 6, 1995.
Excerpt from:
http://www.feministsforlife.org/taf/1995/winter/wiltoliv.htm
To prevent people from suffering the same fate as Marjorie Nighbert, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) has created the Will to Live. This differs from the living will by being based on a general presumption for life. It is also much more detailed to avoid ambiguities that could later be interpreted in favor of death. Currently, the Will to Live is complete for fourteen states: Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The other states are in various stages of preparation and will be completed soon.
If you would like a Will to Live for one of the states mentioned, send a business size, self- addressed, stamped envelope to:
The Will to Live Project
419 7th Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20004.
ALSO, you can download a WILL TO LIVE from www.nrlc.org and use it as a guideline if it is not offered in your state.
Sounds Reasonable to Me ,But this has Been Procedure for a long time, Something though about Mr. Obama and his Past and his Feelings on Abortion and the Left wing Moonbats who are running this Country lends me to think there is more to this than what you are talking about. Saving Hundreds of Billions of dollars as Obama says by Providing the Best care but not the Most expensive care makes me think Obama wants you out of the way as economically as Possible.
He doesnt want his daughters BURDENED with a Baby! I suppose he doesnt want his daughters Burdened with Grandma Or Grandpa either.
The nurses at the hospital I work at have said that they can feel ribs snapping as they perform CPR and by the time they are finished, the ribs have turned to mush.
When the government mandates a maximum of 30 years old, like in Logan's Run, will you speak up then?