N.O. patients euthanized? (page 4)

Carol

This is the first time I have seen this story, where was it published? Did it give the author's name? Was it checked out for authenticity?

After reading and watching accounts of how the doctors, nurses, technicians, janitors, etc. stood and breathed for their patients, how they kept moving them higher and higher with no electric, a/c or running water, fanning them and bathing them in what little water they had...going for 2 or 3 days without food.....I think the designers of the hospitals should be held accountable for putting the generators an additional 10 foot below the 12 foot that NO is below sea level and not on the roof in a special bunker, where they would not be under water when needed. If charges are brought against the medical personnell then they should also be brought against the Mayor, Governor, the head of FEMA and the architects/designers.

I'm sure if there is any truth to the story, that none of the overmedicated patients had a chance of survival and that they slept through the worst part....

The only thing the publishing of a story like this will do is heap additional stress and grief on the families and medical personnell involved.

War is Hell and I'm sure that everyone in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi felt like they were in Hell while they warred with nature.

Aude_Sapere

Carol: "...I'm sure if there is any truth to the story..."

Rebel works in healthcare and a good part of her job is ethics. I have found her to be an amazing and extremely credible source.

-Aude.

FlyingHighNow

WOW that is really surprising. I would definitely want to be the one deciding my own destiny and knowing what was going on.

I suspect that most patients who know they are dying, would rather float off to the other side on a cloud of morphene than to die from thirst, heat stroke or drown, especially those who were in extreme pain.

My mom did hard, labored chain stoke breathing while running a 107 degree fever for parts of three days. She was given no nourishment or water. We were only allowed to swab her mouth with lemon glycerin. They would come in and sponge bathe her to hasten things along. It brings tears to my eyes to think of how she turned into a limp rag doll from her last two sponge baths. I wish she had been in hospice care. I'm pretty sure she'd have welcomed some morphene or even liquid valium, anything to make it all less painful and frightening.

free2beme

What a thing to live with, I know they did what was right based on their medical knowledge. Although, it will be debated and may cost some lawsuits.

Sweetp0985

Rebel8 said, "Have you read the story about the 30 or so patients found dead on the 1st floor of a nursing home? Story says the staff told the pts. someone would be back to rescue them. Can you even imagine how horrible it would have been to see the water rising around you and knowing you're about to drown? "

I'm quite sure this is the same story, but in this case, the nursing home owners were asked more than once if they wanted to evacuate these patients to which they said no. So these owners are the first that I have heard of in this whole situation to face criminal charges (other than looters). Because in this case, the patients could have been evacuated. And from what the news media here is saying, this was offered before the storm even hit. Now after the storm hit it may have been harder for the evacuation to take place and if the water rose too fast then close to impossible. But the criminal charges stem from the owners saying no to evacuation when mandatory evacuation orders had been given already before the storm hit and they refused to evacuate the patients.

crazyblondeb

I have to agree with scully. If it were my parent I would want them to go with no pain & with dignity. I wouldn't wish any patient waiting, not knowing how they'd die. Besides the armed looters, I'm sure they had no oxygen, no air conditioning, no way to hydrate or feed them, and flood waters rising. Can you imagine how agonizing it would be knowing you could die a slow. painful death--- when there was a way to go with no pain, like falling asleep.

shelley

rebel8

Sphere, I am just saying if the patients were conscious, then they should have been asked if they wanted to be put to death. There are many people who would want to hang on until the very last minute and it is unethical to put such people to death. People should have a right to choose their own destiny. It would be another thing entirely if the patients had been crying out for days for help to die, then later to be put to death when they fell unconscious. That article never once mentions what the patients’ wishes were. That is very scary to me.

Leaving people on a slab in the morgue is very different than killing them with morphine.

I have my ADs done but it is not possible to put on a legal document that I want someone to overdose me with morphine to quicken my death. Well I suppose I could put it there, but how valid is a request for a doctor to do something illegal? Morphine ODs are illegal, and yet it happens every day in most hospitals. It is not an isolated incident. It would be better if assisted suicide was allowed, but until then society is allowing morphine ODs and looking the other way. IMO if assisted suicide were legal, then it would stop others from making such weighty decisions for patients, and empower them to decide for themselves.

Like I said, I am all for assisted suicide but the article is describing something far from that. If the patients’ wishes were for the OD, then you’d think that would have been the first thing the interviewees would have mentioned.

Aude, Thank you so much for the compliment. Actually, I did not get the article from a healthcare source, just the internet. Carol is right—the article’s validity is unknown and will remain so—there is no way to verify what took place in the past w/o eyewitnesses. I commented on that myself in an earlier post and put a “?” next to the thread title for that reason—to convey its possible lack of credibility.

rebel8

Oh and, in case you haven't heard, the people who allegedly left the nursing home patients are now being prosecuted for murder. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It sounds pretty damning but it will be interesting to hear their side of the story. I'll bet there's more to the story than the media is currently reporting.

Carol

Rebel8, just keep listening to the news...they had an attorney before they were even charged. The neighbors helped evacuate a large number of the nursing home residents and didn't know the others were there!

Aud, I was not questioning the honesty of the person starting the thread.....I would however love to know the source of the story or at least the author......if it is true, I'm almost positive the state and federal prosecutors are going to want the names of the source and witnesses. I would think if it happened (and frankly I have no doubt that it did) and the account is factual...the less people that know about it the better. If someone needs to talk about it to absolve their conscience...it would be best to talk to a priest, rabbi, minister, etc. as they cannot repeat what is told to them in a confessional matter...whereas most reporters and authors will spend only so much time in jail to keep their sources confidential.

Soledad

I hope I never have to face a situation like that. How difficult it must have been for the physicians.

N.O. patients euthanized?

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