If you had a terminal illness...

[Aidensmom]

....and were on life support, knowing that if you were taken off you would die a natural death, would you want them to keep you on life support or pull the plug?

I have already instructed my family to pull the plug if I am in this situation, as have my mother and DH. Our feelings are we would rather not put financial strain on the family just to postpone the inevitable.

How about you?

 

[Ziva]

No plug pulling unless my brain is mush.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Pull all life support,and that includes feeding tubes

 

[kristen821]

Give it a week to see if there would be any improvement and pull the plug. Somebody else can use my organs and I wouldn't want to live on life support anyway

 

[JennaTX]

You are just looking to "stir the pot" some more tonight, lol! Between the not in America thread, the swingers thread, etc. the CB seems to be in debate mode!

No I would not want to be kept on life support, DH is the same way, as both of my parents are ( I am not sure about DH's parents).

Although if you are talking about something that could change and we have the medical ability to change it, then yes.

If I am brain dead, no hope, absolutely not, please donate my organs.

 

[lucyanna girl]

That is why I signed a living will several years ago. I would not want to be kept alive in a diminished state. I watched an uncle die a horrible death from a degenerative muscle disease. I would also not want to place the burden of making such a decision on anyone I love.

 

[poohandwendy]

It would depend on the prognosis. If there was little to no hope of my recovering to live a conscious life, please pull the plug.

 

[escape]

If my organs can be used, save them, then pull the plug.

Get a living will if you do not have one....otherwise, your wishes, one way or another, may not be carried out.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Although if you are talking about something that could change and we have the medical ability to change it, then yes.

If I am brain dead, no hope, absolutely not, please donate my organs.

ditto to this

 

[barkley]

i have had serious discussions with my dh and family (sibs, mother) regarding this because at around age 40 i suffered 2 strokes that dramaticly changed my life.

i am adamantly against removing feeding/hydration tubes if they are the only means of "life support" a patient is utilizing. my belief is based on the fact that any human being who is withheld food or water will die after some period of time, therefore it is not "life support" it is being humane.

as far as being on a breathing machine or other mechanical means to sustain life-if i were physicaly or mentaly impaired such that it is not a reasonable expection for me to regain/maintain my own major bodily functions (breathing, heart beat...) without the aide of these machines-i opt for "life support" to be discontinued (i'm not referring to a pace maker or such-but rather major medical equipment that would relegate my body to a sustained vegatative physical state).

this is not a financial consideration-it is an emotional consideration. i would not want my children/family to emotionaly burdened with what i consider to be a prolonged death. i would rather that they move forward with their lives.

my fil (who was in his 80's at the time) who was in extreemly poor health suffered a fall a few years ago that resulted in a snowball effect that landed him in icu on life support. although the prognosis was grim even should he recover my mil insisted he remain on life support. he was in icu for 4 months-over 2 1/2 on life support, the remainder weaning off the respirator and enduring grueling physical rehabilitation. he returned home and passed less than a month later. my mil still supports her decision saying "if i had'nt fought for him we never would have had that last month together". that last month (during which fil was immobile, could not communicate, require constant around the clock care) cost a tremendous physical and emotional toll on my fil whose body and spirit were exhausted by the tremendous strain and toil it had been through, and his children and grandchildren (who will always remember grandpa not as the vibrant man he was, but as the "man on the machine" who was angry and confused when they visited him in rehab/at home).

for me "life" is far more than a biological process that can be sustained via artificial means.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

My kids already know to pull the plug on me.

I just went through this with my father. There was no hope, and putting a feeding tube down him & keeping him on IVs would only prolong his suffering. He passed on 11/26

There's no way I want to put my family through that, and I certainly don't want to exist in a suffering mode if I don't have to.

 

[Mariposa]

If I already had a terminal illness I would definitely NOT want to be kept on any kind of life support. My mother passed away 3 years ago due to complications from Hepatitis C. As soon as her doctor told her that her disease was terminal (had already progressed very far and she had no chance of making it through any kind of transplant surgery due to other issues) she signed a DNR (do not resuscitate) order. It took my sister a long time to understand why, but I think I understand why she did it. I'd like to think I'd be brave enough to make that decision for my family, too.. Having to lose her once nearly wore me through emotionally. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have nearly lost her over and over... But that's if I were already terminally ill.

If I were brain dead, or if I was living in an extremely diminished state with no chance of recovery, I would not want to be kept alive.

 

[Shugardrawers]

I do have a terminal illness. My family knows I don't want myself or them to suffer any more than necessary. If there isn't a reasonable amount of hope, pull the plug. If I'm going to die anyway I'd rather just go when things get bad enough to be on life support.

 

[dmslush]

Pull the plug. SO just went through this. His father was diagnosed with a terminal illness at Thanksgiving. We thought he had about 6 months. He ended up going into septic shock and had to have a breathing tube put it. He let it stay until SO could get to him (he lives in seattle, we are in TN). As soon as SO got there, he had them take it out. He died within the hour. He didn't want any extreme measures at all, but allowed the tube to stay in until his son could get there.

 

[BuckNaked]

If I have a terminal illness, I don't want my life to be prolonged with tubes and wires. But if I don't have a terminal illness, I don't want to be disconnected from breathing/feeding tube.

 

[anita967]

Whatever your decisions are in this matter it is a great idea to put it into writting now while you are able. It doesn't cost much for a lawyer to draw up a living will or advance directive for you and it makes a big difference when the time comes.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Pull the plug. I even have a living will stating this. My Dr. knows about the living will.

 

[Poohnatic]

DH and I both say pull the plug. The Terry Schiavo situation made us talk about it. Seeing his sister and my mom die of lung cancer within three months of each other this past year just cemented our decision.


Suzanne

 

[Buckalew11]

I have a living will. No, I don't want to kept alive on life support. I would not want to live as terry Shaivo did. That isn't living to me.(& it is only MO)

My dad has terminal cancer. He also has a Living Will and he sat all three of us down last week and explained his wishes. It was tough to hear but I am glad he did it so we know how he feels and we are all on the same page.

 

[RitaZ.]

For me, definitely pull the plug. I believe in the right to die.