UPDATE ON MY SISTER: PULLING THE PLUG

[Th1onein]

To all of you who responded to my original post about the hospital wanting to pull the plug on my sister:

First of all, in Texas, we have the "Medical Futility" law, which Governor Bush signed into law in 1999. This law states that if doctors determine that it is medically futile to continue treating a person, as long as they go through a procedure involving the meeting of an ethics committee and that committee concurs with their belief in the futility of treating that person, they are not liable either criminally or civilly for discontinuing treatment for that patient.

Let me make this very clear to you all: If this ethics committee meets and they think that there is a medical futility, then even if the family disagrees or EVEN IF THE PATIENT IS RESPONSIVE AND DISAGREES, they can discontinue treatment. Period.

My sister is RESPONSIVE. She knows what is going on and she is able to communicate by eye blinks her wishes. She does not want to die.

But, according to the Texas medical futility law, that does not matter. They can discontinue treatment anyway.

What our family did was this: We threatened to picket the hospital. We contacted the Houston police and found that we are not required to have a permit to picket. Then we called the hospital and offered a deal, the day before the picketing was to begin: We would agree to delay the picket if the hospital would delay the meeting of the ethics committee and find another place for my sister to go, for long term treatment. The hospital agreed.

We are in the process of physically going to the places that the hospital found for her long term treatment, and seeing if they are nice enough for my sister to stay in. But, one last thing: If that ethics committee had met and determined medical futility applied in her case, the possibility of finding a place to take my sister would be NILL. She would have been unable to be moved and treatment would be discontinued and she would have died.

Keep all of this in mind if you have a loved one in a hospital in Houston. Stand up and be willing to fight for your loved one.

[GrumpyGreg]

1. My prayers go out to you and your family----an awful situation .

[laylah]

2. God/dess bless you and

your family. :hug:

Jenn

[raysr]

3. Get hold of Micheal Moore, really!

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. Good idea

[mdmc]

4. my prayers are with you

peace and low stress

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Omigod. How can they do that to a family?

I remember reading a story about a similar situation in Texas a while back.

I hope that the situation works out for the best for you and your sister.

Can you get any media coverage?

EDIT: Sun Hudson was the child to whom this was done in Texas. It was the contrast between Bush's rush to save Terru Schiavo and his signing of this "Futility" bill when he was Governor of Texas.
http://www.samefacts.com/archives/_/2005/03/schiavo_hudson_and_nikolouzos.php

[Th1onein]

8. The picketing would have gotten media coverage....

Fortunately, that is not necessary now, because they have agreed to put a stop to the whole thing. They did this BECAUSE we were threatening to picket in front of the hospital. They didn't want the negative publicity that this would have brought to the hospital.

I can't help but wonder, now that this is all over, though, how many people don't know that they can fight? How many people just sigh and cry and give up on their loved ones? How many people have been quietly murdered at the Houston medical center in the years since 1999?

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Based on the number of hits I got, there have been many llives lost

due to this law. So much for "Compassionate Conservativism".

[SPKrazy]

6. Bush And His Culture Of Life!

Barf

I'm glad that you are able to follow your sister's wishes.

Best of luck.

[BanzaiBonnie]

7. ALMOST more than anything else

I hate the hypocrisy of this administration.


I hope you find a good place for your sister to stay and they are able to make her comfortable.


In January, my cousin's son was "dumped" from a long term care situation. They are now trying to care for him at home and his needs are so great that it's tearing the family apart.


We must fix our medical care system and how it is funded. It's broken.

[Warpy]

10. Hard to believe Texas law overrules a conscious patient

who is able to participate in the decisions over her medical care. That is completely against medical ethics and violates the Hippocratic oath.

Then again, we're talking about Texas, the state that has the worst laws in the country when it comes to protecting people from institutions.

[mom cat]

18. And a law that George Bush signed. George loved his job as

chief executioner.

[tom_paine]

11. My thoughts and prayers to your family

Imperial Amerika has become such an ugly place since the Old Republic died.

I hope and pray that your sister recovers before "Compassionate Conservatism" kills her as it has so many others.

[longship]

12. Amazing. No requirement to include the family

Your sister and family are in my thoughts.

[longship]

13. Suggestion: Hospice care

Hospice is not just for the dying. It also takes care of long-term critical illnesses. I highly suggest that you get in contact with Hospice in your area.

When my mother came down with cancer. She elected for Hospice care which allowed her to carry on with life at home, without hospitalization. Of course, we knew that the cancer would eventually take her. But for over a year and a half she had a quality of life that was quite wonderful. She did anything she wanted.

Your sister could really benefit from this kind of thing. Being at home with loved ones around is a wonderful thing. It could do more than help her cope. It could help her heal. If there's hope for her, Hospice could help.

Please, please, please, don't neglect this. Hospice is absolutely incredible.

They take care of everything. Medication, nurses, family counselling, the whole ball of wax. It could be the ticket for you.

[NCarolinawoman]

51. Yes, let me point out that you can GRADUATE from hospice care.

My Mom, who had a stroke and congestive heart failure, had a greatly improved quality of life under Hospice care. Hospice had already decided that she qualified for another sixth months of care, which medicare covered, but she sooned passed away very peacefully.

I was very pleased and surprised when they told me that some people actually graduate, and don't need them anymore. Hospice, at least in my area, is offered in six month increments.

Hospice is all about keeping a patient comfortable, pain free, and clean. The cleanliness part, of course, is a very important part of human dignity.

[TNDemo]

14. This really needs some media coverage.

Maybe Dateline, 60 Minutes or NOW?

[TNDemo]

15. Or Keith Obermann.

That would be my first step.

[oregonjen]

16. It's interesting that this admin. is fighting tooth and nail Oregon's

Death with Dignity law. If someone is terminally ill, they can choose to end their life and not suffer. Why did Bush sign the Texas law and now is fighting the Oregon law that Oregonians voted for twice?

I'm sorry for what your sister is going through. Healing thoughts your way to you and your family.

[IndyOp]

17. It is all about taking power from individuals & giving it to corporations

How much more clear could it be?

They won't let people and their doctors make choices for themselves or their loved ones (think Terri Schiavo) but they will let hospital corporations pull the plug if you aren't wealthy enough to exchange $$$$$ for life.

:grr:

[Roland99]

19. Have you and your family considered contacting the media?

[SeattleGirl]

20. What a sad story, Th1onein

What on earth is WRONG with Bush? (Never mind....there's not enough time in the world to list what's wrong with him).

What I find extremely bizzare is that an ETHICS committee would meet to make a determination about a patient based on a law that is patently UNETHICAL. Add to that the way the Republicans -- and most prominently, Bush -- wanted to "save" Terry Schiavo when she WAS beyond hope, and contrast it to your sister's situation, where she obviously IS responsive, and IS able to make her desire known, and it's enough to make a person crazy.

I admire you and your family for the stand you have taken, and for the action you planned if the hospital were to proceed with their meeting to decide the fate of your sister. I wish her, and you and your family, the very best.

[hedgehog]

21. For those of us who live in other states, please clarify a detail.

Is this a for profit hospital?

Many Northern and Midwestern states do not have for-profit hospitals and some people have never heard of such institutions. People up here need to be aware that this is one possible future awaiting us.

Here's praying all goes well with your sister.

[Gregorian]

22. I'm so shocked, I can hardly reply.

I would need another thread to say what I have to say, and be polite. There is absolutely no room for Republicans in American society.


I dearly wish you and your loved ones the very best. I don't know what else to say. I'm totally flabbergasted. Unbelieveable.

[Swamp Rat]

23. .

:hug:

[cascadiance]

24. Man, I can't imagine what you must be going through!

Last year my Mom and sister and I were going through similar gut wrenching time just about the exact same time that Terry Schiavo was allowed to go.

My dad, who's had alzheimer's, had to have an emergency operation and subsequently get a colonostomy. He kept pulling both his IV out and the tube going down his nasal and throat passages to feed him when he got out of emergency to the rest home, to the point that they were having a difficult time even getting him any liquids, since liquids going down his throat that already had trauma from him pulling out his tubes there might have him choke to death, and they were running out of vein spots that they could put an IV in that weren't damaged.

Right before Mom and I went to a speech that Thom Hartmann was giving at a local church that night he told us that he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to live. We both cried that he was aware as he was of his condition even with his alzheimer's. It was helpful hearing Thom speak in a church settting that night, but it still was tough! The rest home wanted us to sign a release form that would have hospice take over, etc. that had insurance ramifications, etc.

Terry Schiavo went down a night or two later, and the radio had kept reminding of us about how she died basically the same death my Dad was going to go through (starvation and dehydration). It was pretty depressing then.

But... Things got miraculously better! Though they couldn't feed him intravenously, he finally was able to drink enough thickened water to avoid immediate death by dehydration. They hadn't expected for him to be able to do this earlier. It took a while, but eventually he was able to start eating liquified food, and now he's eating more regularly. He's in a home now where he wasn't in one before, but that's in a way a blessing too. No longer does he have problems with drinking and smoking that he used to while at home with Mom, and he's actually spiritually in a lot better spirits now than he was earlier both after the surgery and even before that, and now its a year later. He's a little further gone with his alzheimer's, but he is back to more normalcy again.

Keep your chin up. Things might get better soon! Just pray and keep your family company while this is happening!

Bush ought to be ashamed that he claims to be a part of the "Culture of Life" with that sort of law in place! I wonder if he'll feel the same way about it if he's very ill and some committee decides he's not fit to live too! Might be a fitting end to him some day!

[sandnsea]

25. I've been shocked at the lack of attention

I know you are going through a horrific ordeal but this MUST get to the attention of the national media. People simply DO NOT understand what is going on. This is exactly what the people who oppose Oregon's death with dignity law fear, that people will be refused treatment because they're terminal. And yet, it's actually happening in Texas and nobody knows and the reason nobody knows is because the right-to-lifers HELPED write this law. This has bothered me ever since I blogged about Baby Hudson.

Would you and your family be willing to be splashed all over the national media?

[progressivebydesign]

26. Oh.. that just makes my heart hurt! I'm so glad you intervened.

What type of hellhole are they running in that state??? Shame on those people... And then you have the Terri Schiavo case where the repubs grandstanded over her right to live! What is wrong with those people? What happened to the Right To Life crowd??

[Critters2]

27. The pro-lifers allow this?

Can you say "Hypocrisy"?

[Vinca]

28. How sad and how horrible.

I can't imagine having to threaten a demonstration to keep a loved one alive. This is not right. My sympathy to you and your family.

[noiretextatique]

29. i understand exactly where you're at

my sympathies and prayers to you and your family, and your sister.
my little sister passed away on march 1 after the asshole oncologists who were treating her decided to let her die. they were in over their heads from the start, but they assured our family that they could treat her very rare form of breast cancer, instead of recommending that we consult a specialist. i pushed to make that happen anyway, but after all their bungling (including an initial misdiagnosis), it was too late by the time the specialist reviwed her case.
my sister still wanted treatment, and had she lived, the ethics committee at the hospital where she was (mis)treated would have reviewed her case, and no doubt agreed with the oncologists.
keep up the good fight, friend...you sister deserves every possible chance. i will continue to fight on my sister's behalf too...and that of other women.
stay strong...and never give up.

[Maraya1969]

30. I am so sorry for your loss.

:hug:

[malaise]

39. My sister died almost a year ago

Thankfully she had her wishes on paper and her doctors and nurses were both professional and caring to the end. Maybe the fact that she was a hospital professional made a difference.

[Maraya1969]

31. What a great sister you are! My very best to you and your family

[GreenPartyVoter]

33. Sending you all love, hugs, Karma, and prayers

[Nutmegger]

34. Wow - this is a heartbreaking situation.

My thoughts are with you. I recommend this. :thumbsup:

[Jason9612]

35. Believe me...

If I was in Texas, I would be the first one to protest this in Houston with you, had it come down to that.

[malaise]

36. This is very sad

Stay strong.

[RazzleDazzle]

37. Heartbreaking. Best wishes for every success and her recovery.

Does anyone have a link to the original thread?

[genieroze]

38. medical futility = compassionate conservatism..

I pray your sister gets into a place where they care and will help her. I hope she beats the odds, gets well and walks back into that hospital and kicks someones butt!

[Tab]

40. Send a video of her

to Senator Frist

Not to sound callous - believe me, I'm sorry you are both going through this. I've had a loved one in a similar state - stroke victim, communicate only via eyeblinks. But as you're fully aware, there's major hypocrisy going on here vis a vis Terry Schiavo. The administration intrudes only when it suits their interest, otherwise life is relatively worthless for them.

I am sorry for what you are going through, and doubly sickened by the political situation which allows it to happen.

Best to you and her - I hope you reach the resolution best for you two, not necessarily the one best for the state of Texas.

[barbtries]

41. my best

wishes to your entire family during this difficult time

[AuntiBush]

42. Rev. Jessie Jackson

He did show-up in Florida during the Schavo matter as I recall seeing him on the news back then.

Can you find him online somehow and contact him?

[crispini]

43. Eeep!

:hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug::hug:

[Crazy Guggenheim]

44. Let's get this out to as many online blogs and forums as possible!!

Prepare for battle!!

:grouphug: :thumbsup: :nuke: :grr: :toast: :popcorn:

[Th1onein]

50. Until I get my sister into another facility, I'm not saying a word.

That was the deal with the hospital. No protest, no ethics committee meeting. Once they have that ethics committee meeting and they rule that further treatment for my sister is "medically futile," no facility in the state will take her as a patient. In other words, the meeting of that committee is a death sentence.

I'm going to keep my mouth shut until I get my sister into another facility for long-term care. Once that happens, I will be glad to participate in any kind of media frenzy, in order to make this public.

[BigBearJohn]

45. WHAT is this world coming to. God bless you for your efforts.

I hope I have someone like you to fight for me if I ever need it.

[NMMNG]

46. Bush, "Pro-Life/Culture-of-Life" indeed

All that fuss he made over Terry Shiavo and he signed that bill into law. Such hypocrisy, though that's all he's ever exhibited.


I hope you find a suitable place for your sister quickly. Get the media involved if necessary to prevent the hospital from moving forward in the event that things on your side get delayed. Best wishes. :hug:

[The Backlash Cometh]

47. I hope the WP or the NYT posts the differences of how this was

handled and how the Terri Schiavo case became a political football. Republicans are so hokey.

[crispini]

48. Link to original thread here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x738256

[Akoto]

49. Pro-life ... while it's in the womb.

Once it's out? Evidently, the new administration regards extended treatment as little more than an unnecessary expense.

I am glad that you were able to find some recourse, Th1onein. I wish there were a way that I could help!