Re: We Want to Live
Cindysan13(AT)aol.com
Sat, 25 Oct 1997 18:57:37 -0400 (EDT)
Hello,
I once took care of a man with ALS that had been ventilator
dependent for seven years. He was married to his soul mate that knew all his
cares and had two loving grown-up daughters who came over daily to assist
with his cares. He also had steady nursing help of six hours a day paid for
by his insurance. I got to know him while his regular nurse had surgery.
Last summer, he decided he had had enough of life on the vent. I had
tried to show him the new computer technology , but he wasn't interested in
the internet.
He would blink the Morse Code to communicate with me. We had many long
conversations and i grew very fond of him. Of course, I had the benefit of
getting to do most of the talking. He gave me good advice.
I was very sad when I heard he had his vent removed. It was all
done legally with an attending physician, hospice nursing, and morphine to
put him to sleep first.
He wanted the right to choose when he wanted to do this. We had discussed
this in conversation many times. Still, I was quite upset when his wife
called and told me.
She still starts to cry when she sees me in the grocery store. WE WANTED HIM
TO LIVE!! I don't know if he realized how emotionally supportive he was to
those who knew him.
Cindy