What Did She Ever Do To Them?

The patient had come from a nursing home. The gangrene in her feet had worked it's way into her bloodstream and she was in septic shock. She was intubated, put on a ventilator and aggressively treated. Once stable, she came to my floor for a few days.

This poor lady was extremely elderly and was in such an advanced stage of dementia, she could no longer recognize her family. She spent her days staring off into space, sometimes moaning. Not being able to eat, she was fed through a tube in her nose. Her arms and legs were badly contracted and she needed frequent turning. The facility where she normally vegetated hadn't turned her often enough, resulting in pressure ulcers going down to the bone across her buttocks. Her legs had poor circulation and were dark and cold from the knees down. Her feet needed to be amputated because of the gangrene.

Her family had been approached about making her a DNR (do not resuscitate). They refused and wanted us to continue doing everything in our power to keep her alive (and suffering) as long as possible.

Not wanting to end up like that, I've considered wearing a DNR sticker taped to my abdomen. I tried it and it was a bit scratchy, so I'm considering making underwear with a DNR print. It wouldn't be sexy, but it would deliver a strong message, I hope. Perhaps I should go into the business of selling DNR underwear. Any takers?

(Despite appearances, that photo is not of an adolescent boy. It is of a 50 year old woman, me.)