Hard To Kill

One of our patients just won't die. It's not for lack of trying on our part, we're doing the best we can, but the patient keeps clinging to life.

What happened is the patient suffered a massive heart attack at home and went into cardiac arrest. His wife didn't know CPR, but she did the best she could. By the time the paramedics arrived, about 10 minutes later, he was dead, but they unfortunately managed to resuscitate him anyway. Going that long without oxygen left him with the IQ of a cabbage.

His wife and the rest of his family agreed that he should be allowed to die. He was taken off the ventilator, but kept breathing through the little hole in his neck. Days went by and his vital signs remained strong. Although his cerebral cortex suffered massive injury, his brain stem was fine. He could live another 10 or 20 years like that.

Something else had to be done to finish him off. At his family's request, we stopped the IV fluids, tube feedings and oxygen. In theory, I'm okay with that. But waiting for him to die of dehydration is not easy. He is still responsive. His eyes open when he's touched. On some level he is not a cabbage, but a human being. In case he is suffering from hunger or thirst, he is on a morphine drip. I hope that we have the dose right. It's stressful waiting for him to die while wondering if we're doing the right thing.