Advanced directives include legal documents such as a living will and/or durable power of attorney for health care. This tragic story began in 1975 when a young woman collapsed at a college party and stopped breathing. When paramedics arrived, they resuscitated her and rushed her to the hospital where she never recovered. Doctors called it a ‘persistent vegetative state’ which meant they did not expect her to wake up from the coma and recover. Months later Karen was no better and all hope of recovery was past. But no one knew what to do in this situation: medical equipment such as respirators and feeding tubes could keep a person alive at the most basic level (a heartbeat and breathing, etc). And no one felt they could stop the respirator. What should they do? The moral and ethical aspects of this case made people think.
I remember the news reports talking about what Karen would have wanted for herself—they reported friends who told what Karen had told them, but no legal documents (such as advanced directives) had been developed at that time. Karen’s family petitioned the court system for permission to turn off the respirator and the legal issues took months. In the meantime, the doctors/nurses weaned her off the respirator. However, tube feedings and hydration kept her body alive for years. Karen died in 1985 (10 years after her collapse.
Do you have an advanced directive (either a living will and/or durable power of attorney for health care) to state what you would want done for you? What’s the difference between a living will and a durable power of attorney for healthcare? More tomorrow.
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