When the outcome was negative, such as " only a 5% chance of survival" many families put their loved ones through invasive procedures anyway. They just didn’t believe or didn’t accept the negative outcome statements. They often gave reasons such as an exceptional quality of their loved one which would allow her to triumph. They were skeptical of physician’s prognoses, but only of the negative tidings. Such biases may have unhappy consequences for the loved ones in the ICUif the families insist on keeping them alive on life support.
We have experienced our first death in the new Memory Care
unit. The hospice nurse was called in and the patient was comfortable,
surrounded by his family and the caring staff. We will offer whatever support
we can as the caregiver support group, but it makes us all wonder about our own
loved ones. We are accustomed to slow decreases in skills and in physical
abilities but the end of life has come swiftly to the three men who have died
recently. For less than a week, they each were confined to bed having problems
breathing or swallowing. None of us expected this outcome. Now we will all be
better prepared and of course still worried.
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