This video was very sad and eye opening at the same time. It is hard to think about what you would do if yourself or a family member were in one of the same situations as these people were in the video. Would I want to be kept alive with a respirator? I am not so sure. These questions presented in the video makes me think about what if that was me, would I choose to have them do everything in order to keep me alive even if that means the quality of my life is worse? Would I choose to have a treatment done even if that means that I will live longer, but I will be in more discomfort and pain? These questions are difficult to think about, but I do know that I would not want to suffer in any way that can be avoided, but if suffering will save my life and present me with a life of less suffrage in the future then that would be the way that I want to go.
This video was definitely a tear jerk-er. Honestly it was hard to keep watching after about twenty minutes. I do not know what type of care I would want at the end of life after watching this video. I guess I would like to go in the most peaceful way possible and at my own home with loved ones around. If I was responsible for my future husband, I can honestly say that would be the hardest decision of my life. I think everyone would want to keep their loved ones around for as long as possible. It is true what the physicians were saying in the video, that since doctors are so aggressive and advanced today, everybody thinks that their loved one will pull through. In reality the people that pull through are the outliers, not the norm. That was something that was difficult for me to come to terms with while watching this video. Wouldn't it be nice if we never had to endure such a situation or make such pain staking decisions? On the other hand, I guess we wouldn't be who we are without making those decisions in life. That is not something that I ever look forward to doing.
This video hit really close to home for me. My Aunt ended up being on a respirator and it was up to my mom whether or not to trache my Aunt. We knew that she would not have the quality of life that she would've wanted if she were trached and she would have to spend at least two months in the hospital after for physical and occupational therapy. My mom ended up deciding to take my Aunt off of the respirator and let her pass. It took three days before she died and I can still see the image of her while she was on the respirator and when she was taken off. The people in the video who were on respirators reminded me so much of my Aunt and the reactions of the people who had to make the decisions to the remove their loved ones from the respirator reminded me a lot of my mom. I hope that I do not have to deal with an experience like this again personally (because I know that I will encounter it in my career as a nurse), but I know that it is always possible. If I were the one who was dying I don't know what I would do either. I feel like the doctor in the video was very accurate in saying that you can talk about what you want to do and how you think you're going to feel about it and handle it over and over again, but when the moment actually comes it's never exactly what you thought it would be and it's a lot harder to cope with and you may change your mind. All of the issues surrounding death in this video are things that I have not thought much about but I'm sure I will as we begin to discuss issues like these in class.
yes this video was incredibly sad and not easy to watch it was also very enlightening. both of my grandparents are old and they are very realistic concerning their death and yesterday my mom and i discussed with them what they would want us to do if they were ever put on a ventilator. they both stated that neighter of them would like to ever be on any form of life support. it is hard to hear yor family say that but when your older i think the best way to go is peacefully and when you're hooked up to machienes is not a very peaceful enviornment. aftering watching this video it got me wondering what i would want to happen to me if i was ever to be placed on life support. but i am young so i have no idea what i would want to happen. i think these types of decisions come with age and who is in your life.
After watching this ideo for the second time it was a real eye opener and still extremely sad. It's weird to look at things so deiiferently after 2 years have gone by and so many events have happened that really change my opinion of how i view it all. I looked back on what I wrote when I had watched it a couple years ago and found these paragraphs:
"i have never really given a lot of thought about the way i would like to die, but i do know i would prefer to die a painless death. Deathis one of my biggest fears. Although i was too young to remember much i have experience death personally. After getting hit with a door when i was 15 months old, my heart stopped beating. My dad and mom frantically gave me CPR and called 911. By the time the paramedics arrived i had no pulse and a police man brought me back to life on my living room floor. This led to many seizures, sometimes daily, for the next 6 years. Even though i would like to die a painless death when it is my time to go, i know that most deaths are not like that. Many Americans die painful deaths every day. Knowing how hard my parents and the policeman fought for my life and how my own body struggled to live, i can not imagine willfully choosing to end my own life or somebody else. I believe giving the dying as much comfort as possible would be the best solution rather than helping one die"
Now when i think about the video my dad comes to mind. He is currently fighting colorectal cancer and seeing the patient John(who has cancer, but just a different type) and his family it really hit me hard. To see him fight and say 'im going to be fine' and that he'll come home and then to see things turn so quickly really makes me think even more about everything. I want my dad to fight and i dont want him to end treatments or to not use means to prolong his life, but i know its his decision and i dont want him to have a qualitiy of life that isn't "up to par" in his eyes. Its almost selfish to say i want him to exhaust all possibilities because I think if i was in his situation i wouldnt want to live in a quality of life that i didnt think was "up to par".
Watching this film really opened my eyes about the reality of death. Death is not always peaceful, and though that would be the way that everyone would like to go, it is not always the case. The pain and suffering that loved ones go through while on their death bed is very scary and I do not look forward to making decisions about the care that my family members should receive. I want my loved ones to pass as painlessly as possible and as peacefully as possible and I do not want to prolong their pain. A friend of the family has been battling cancer since I was very little and has gone through treatment after treatment and many surgeries to rid her body of cancer. However, the cancer just keeps coming back. She is a fighter but has recently been moved into the care of hospice. It is very sad to see cancer win the battle but she would say that every treatment and surgery was worth it to be able so stay alive long enough to raise her kids and be their for them.
This video was hard to watch, but it shed the light on how some patients want to live and fight for their lives and others just want to die. When I watched this video I began to understand that some people will always hold out hope for their family no matter the situations. Also I started understand that some people don't want to go through watching their love ones suffer so they make the decision to take them off life support. My family had to go through this when my cousin had a stroke so I sort of get what some of the people are going through.
I agree with the statement that the movie is very depressing. There were some noteworthy aspects of death in this age of technology that were addressed and that I think are noteworthy.
1. Who is to say what the patient wants? At the very beginning of the video, a wife was deliberating whether or not a tracheotomy would be in the best interests of her husband. "I just hope I make the right choice." Likewise, the daughters of the dementia patient were torn about what their mother would want, complicating the choice with dissension. Who can say what a patient would want? If something happened to someone I cared about and I was asked whether they would want painful treatment to potentially prolong their life (perhaps with very slim odds), what would I do? I just hope I never end up in that situation.
2. Another aspect is the concept of doing nothing and how that is so difficult for some people. The wife of one of the cancer patients (Alberti, introduced towards the middle of video) explained this idea well: "Why give up? What is that going to do?" Likewise, interviews with the doctors revealed similar sentiments, as they explained how "It's scary to do nothing" and how the "what if" concern that something more might be successful plagues both doctors and patients alike.
3. Finally, no one wants a painful death. If one has to die, that person would most likely want to go peacefully. However, a peaceful death conflicts with the second point above, because it might require resignation to death. This dichotomy is expressed in one comment from the movie: "Nobody wants to die, and at the same time nobody wants to die badly." The healthcare proxy and sister of one of the patients also described this when she explained that, in reference to her brother, "I just don't want him to die in pain."
Amongst the poignant stories of the individuals who fought to survive, I found the above themes evident in every case. Everyone wants to survive, but how far is a person willing to go? How much treatment? How much pain? Is that additional--and painful--bone marrow transplant worth the small chance? Should your loved one have the tracheotomy? Death is so difficult for people to grapple with and this era of technology has--while saving many--complicated it by introducing new choices and decisions.
This movie truly moved and affected me... I've never witnessed first-hand someone "dying" (yet being kept alive) while on a respirator or through other means--so this really made that a reality to me. Although this might sound naive, I have always pictured patients of that nature in an unresponsive and comatose-type state, so seeing these patients being alive and conscious truly moved me. Although this documentary centered around the patients and their families, I wish more would have been done with the doctors. As professionals in this field who see every thing (and who are obviously more knowledgeable than the average person when it comes to the dying process), I'd love to know their personal viewpoints. What they would want done, should their own spouse or even themselves were going through these processes. The most poignant part of the film to me was the issue between deciding who made the "decisions" for one patient. It was a toss up between the man's sister and his long-time girlfriend, and both claimed to have heard different things from him at different times. I cannot imagine having a battle like that during such a trying time. While the advancement of medicine can prolong life and give invaluable time to the families and loved ones of dying or terminally ill patients--it also brings about the question of "how far is too far". Although I am young, and my parents are (hopefully/presumably/God willing) far from death--this documentary alone made me want to sit down with them and talk about this, just to learn how they feel about these issues.
I am an emotional individual and it was very difficult for me to watch this video. I have witnessed death of family members in similar situations, but I was young and did not have to make some of the difficult decisions these families had to make (to recessitate their loved one or not). I can not image the pain from having to make that decision. I do know though that if I am in a situation myself where there is no recovery, I want to go peacefully and not rely on life support. I agree, watching this video has pushed me to have a conversation with my parents about their wishes, as well as mine.
I am such an emotional person too. Having been around death so much in my life made me ask my parents about their wishes when I was a teenager. As much as I don't want to think about death and the death of my close family members, it is something that must be done because we will all have to deal with it at some point in our lives.
Wow. This video was one to make you think and feel all different types of emotions- sadness, hope, despair, etc.. I don't know what I would do in that kind of situation and am frightened of the thought of possibly doing so with my gram. I simply cannot fathom making the decision on how one of my loved ones should live or die if their health has brought them down to such debilitating stages. I know that as a nurse I will encounter families who have to make these decisions, whether it is for their grandparent, mother/father, husband/wife or child, and it makes me think how, as a healthcare provider, can I make these decisions easier, if that is possible. I agree with Laura, I would like to know what the physicians and nurses personally think and how they feel about these situations where it seems almost all hope is lost and that the underlying disease has won, but what about that small chance that treatment could bring them back from the edge, even if it is only temporary. This video has given me a lot to think about and consider on both a personal and professional level.
I've witnessed this same situation twice in the past five years with both of my aunts in the ICU. It's so hard to look at someone you love dying right in front of you, and that's why it's probably hard for them to let go of them. I always imagine what it's like for the one who's suffering. Do they know what's going on? Do they really want to be on life support? Are they really suffering? It makes me think about what I would do if I had to make a decision for a loved one to keep them alive. Would I be able to do it or not?
I thought the video was very sad, but there was really no way around that type of setting. I agree that I have no idea what I would want for myself if I were in that situation, or if I had to make the choice for someone like my mom or dad. It was interesting to see how the doctors described everything when talking to family members about how their loved ones would/could die. I think that the topic of life support will probably never really be settled because so many people have different views on it based on personal beliefs, religion, etc etc.
This video was extremely difficult to watch. I was an emotional wreck because I hated seeing the pain the patient suffered and the difficulty they were faced with when the decision came down to the wire. It is easy to say I want x,y,and z when I am in this situation but no one can truely be certain when it comes to the moment and they are faced with a difficult decision. Before watching the video I firmly believed that if I were in that position I would not want any form of life support because it would be my hopes that I would pass away comfortably. I have not, however, given much thought to the same decision with regards to my parents and brother and sister. It would be difficult to watch someone remain in a vegetable state and still maintain hope that they will wake up and miraculously "survive" the trauma. The reality is, will the medical procedures ultimately improve the quality of life or will the person be awake but not fully be alive?
This video made me more fear of dead. It seems that facing the dead is more difficult than I thought. It not only suffer ourself but the people we love.And we will lose the connection with the world and not exist anymore.
The most difficult situation among patients' family in video was to decide whether take out the respirator from their relative which help to matian their life. Even the patients themself also can not be easy to make this kind of decisions before they lose the ability to make it. 95% of patients in ICU can not communicate with their family. The improvement of teachnology in one side postpones the immediate dead of people but in other side gives more hardships to family as they need to decide their family member life or dead.
Human being becomes inability in front of dead. How should we face it without fear?
This video was very emotional and brings up difficult decisions for patient's families. And how can a patient define their wishes if they are not there and able to assess the situation, and so family is left entirely with the responsibility and to make the best judgement. No one would want their loved one to suffer, but perhaps the risk of suffering is worth another chance to live out their life. I have a first hand experience and saw the miracle that someone was totally machine depended and deeply sedated turn around after five months. He suffered as he tried to recover, but he is alive and active today. You can ask him and he says it was worth the chance because he gets to watch his daughters grow up, doesn't take life for granted, and now has a close relationship with God. And it gives me hope for other patients, but at the same time, who is to say another has tolerance to be able to go through the stress of being removed off the machine? In addition, the person's body may not respond positively or perhaps they are too dependent on the machines. Not to mention the high costs, time... Even after witnessing a positive experience, I think that the decision is very hard to face. At this point, I can not distinguish a line where medical technology prolonging life while causing suffering trumps prolonging life in order for the individual to overcome the illness.
This video was truly one of the saddest things I have ever seen. Someone suffering with no way in order to know if the patient wants to be alive or set free. It puts a lot of pressure on family and friends in order to know what is best for them. It is also hard to say what you do if you were a religious family. You do not want to see a family member suffer from so many travesties, but then again you do not want to let them go. In my opinion, if their is no hope, I think the right thing to do is to let that person go and be free from all the pain and illness. I know if I were in that position and did not have the ability to live again, I would not want to be kept alive on a machine.
The video hit hard for me. My brother's 16 year old friend Greg was on life support due to the ATV accident, and his family decided to take him off. Till this day, Greg's mom still wonders if it was the best thing to do. I think about it all of the time; could he have made an outstanding recovery? They decided to take him off because he was completely brain dead and more than likely would never be again to gain it back. I know he was suffering and I know it was the best thing to do, but there are so many "what ifs."
The video was tough to watch. Seeing people suffer breaks my heart. I do still believe you are alive on life support and there is a chance/miracle you can come back and survive through the sufferings. It was amazing seeing the older lady with dementia come off life support and was breathing. I would have no idea what I would do if I were in the position to have to make a decision to continue life support or a respirator or to stop it on a family member. My dad always tells me he does not want to suffer so if he ever gets to a state where he cannot function on his own he would rather just die. If I knew a loved one could survive and come through after being on life support, respirator or a ventilator I would continue even though the medical expenses would be very high. From watching this video I have learned that even to make the choice for treatments and therapy is a hard decision for the patient and the patient's family.
I love this video. Not because it shows you all the death that occurs, but because of what medical care is today. The events that take place and the statement about how every one of your body systems can survive on a machine is (shockingly) true- it's now referred to as "medical tourture". This concept is something that was taught in my chronicity course, which also opened my eyes to the many aspects of death and the life process as a whole. Chronic illness is a major reason these patients end up in hospitals; other reasons are not as important. However, I think with the education of the illness the trajectory of disease needs discussed up front also. This discussion will help patients and families decide on an Advanced Directive and put things into a perspective for all of the people involved. Many of these situations could be avoided if the family had planned the disease in advance.
I am going to steal Kristin Meyers word because I love it so much and say this video is enlightening! Yes, it is not all hunky-dory and happy but the facts and real situations make one think. This video made me want to write a Will so that my family wouldn't have to go through with making the grimest of decisions. Also, I want to have them watch it and tell them they are making a Will so I can keep a piece of sanity if this were to ever happen. This video made me realize that it could happen to anyone. I know none of these people believed it could ever happen to them. The video presents the numbers of dollars spent on this area of medicine but also adds in real situations for the viewer to see the pain they go through and the little hope they have to hang onto. I like that the video captures many sides from the doctors to the patients and the family members.
I thought commented on this two days ago but I guess I didn't hit publish or something. The video brought back so many upsetting memories of my two grandpas" when they were in the ICU battling cancer. They both ended up on a vent and we, as a family, had to decide to take it out or to leave it in. In both instances, we decided to take it out because we knew that the quality of life was not up to their standards. For both of my grandpas', most of the family was in the room when they passed away. The families in the videos went through exactly what I did and it is not something that I like to think about or deal with. Getting to know the people and seeing their before and after pictures was so sad. The fight and optimism that each of them had was so inspiring. Even until the bitter end they were fighting and looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. The bravery and optimism of John and Albert showed me just how important life is and the lengths that I would go to to preserve the life here on Earth. Seeing John and Albert and knowing that they both had children at home really hit me hard because I have a two year old son and I can't imagine him growing up without me. It is scary to know that anyone can experience this and that we just never know what will happen. We shouldn't take life for granted and live it to the fullest!
This video was very interesting to watch. I feel I can relate some what with clip because I have had to had conversations with family as far as what they wanted for their love ones as far as CPR vs DNR, and its a difficult and ockaward conversation to approach especially if they have no idea what that means. It is also difficult to see families make decisions as far as do we change from cpr to dnr to pallitive care, to hospice care. This video was very educational and more people need to see it. I know death is difficult to talk about, I even try and talk to my family about it. about what they want if something were to happen, but the response i get is very short if any on the topic. I think it is very important for people to realize what is happening to their body, what do they believe and what do they want done, and they need to be well educated on the subject to make an informed decision.
This video was very sad and eye opening at the same time. It is hard to think about what you would do if yourself or a family member were in one of the same situations as these people were in the video. Would I want to be kept alive with a respirator? I am not so sure. These questions presented in the video makes me think about what if that was me, would I choose to have them do everything in order to keep me alive even if that means the quality of my life is worse? Would I choose to have a treatment done even if that means that I will live longer, but I will be in more discomfort and pain? These questions are difficult to think about, but I do know that I would not want to suffer in any way that can be avoided, but if suffering will save my life and present me with a life of less suffrage in the future then that would be the way that I want to go.
ReplyDeleteThis video was definitely a tear jerk-er. Honestly it was hard to keep watching after about twenty minutes. I do not know what type of care I would want at the end of life after watching this video. I guess I would like to go in the most peaceful way possible and at my own home with loved ones around. If I was responsible for my future husband, I can honestly say that would be the hardest decision of my life. I think everyone would want to keep their loved ones around for as long as possible. It is true what the physicians were saying in the video, that since doctors are so aggressive and advanced today, everybody thinks that their loved one will pull through. In reality the people that pull through are the outliers, not the norm. That was something that was difficult for me to come to terms with while watching this video. Wouldn't it be nice if we never had to endure such a situation or make such pain staking decisions? On the other hand, I guess we wouldn't be who we are without making those decisions in life. That is not something that I ever look forward to doing.
ReplyDeleteThis video hit really close to home for me. My Aunt ended up being on a respirator and it was up to my mom whether or not to trache my Aunt. We knew that she would not have the quality of life that she would've wanted if she were trached and she would have to spend at least two months in the hospital after for physical and occupational therapy. My mom ended up deciding to take my Aunt off of the respirator and let her pass. It took three days before she died and I can still see the image of her while she was on the respirator and when she was taken off. The people in the video who were on respirators reminded me so much of my Aunt and the reactions of the people who had to make the decisions to the remove their loved ones from the respirator reminded me a lot of my mom. I hope that I do not have to deal with an experience like this again personally (because I know that I will encounter it in my career as a nurse), but I know that it is always possible. If I were the one who was dying I don't know what I would do either. I feel like the doctor in the video was very accurate in saying that you can talk about what you want to do and how you think you're going to feel about it and handle it over and over again, but when the moment actually comes it's never exactly what you thought it would be and it's a lot harder to cope with and you may change your mind. All of the issues surrounding death in this video are things that I have not thought much about but I'm sure I will as we begin to discuss issues like these in class.
ReplyDeleteyes this video was incredibly sad and not easy to watch it was also very enlightening. both of my grandparents are old and they are very realistic concerning their death and yesterday my mom and i discussed with them what they would want us to do if they were ever put on a ventilator. they both stated that neighter of them would like to ever be on any form of life support. it is hard to hear yor family say that but when your older i think the best way to go is peacefully and when you're hooked up to machienes is not a very peaceful enviornment. aftering watching this video it got me wondering what i would want to happen to me if i was ever to be placed on life support. but i am young so i have no idea what i would want to happen. i think these types of decisions come with age and who is in your life.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this ideo for the second time it was a real eye opener and still extremely sad. It's weird to look at things so deiiferently after 2 years have gone by and so many events have happened that really change my opinion of how i view it all. I looked back on what I wrote when I had watched it a couple years ago and found these paragraphs:
ReplyDelete"i have never really given a lot of thought about the way i would like to die, but i do know i would prefer to die a painless death. Deathis one of my biggest fears.
Although i was too young to remember much i have experience death personally. After getting hit with a door when i was 15 months old, my heart stopped beating. My dad and mom frantically gave me CPR and called 911. By the time the paramedics arrived i had no pulse and a police man brought me back to life on my living room floor. This led to many seizures, sometimes daily, for the next 6 years.
Even though i would like to die a painless death when it is my time to go, i know that most deaths are not like that. Many Americans die painful deaths every day.
Knowing how hard my parents and the policeman fought for my life and how my own body struggled to live, i can not imagine willfully choosing to end my own life or somebody else. I believe giving the dying as much comfort as possible would be the best solution rather than helping one die"
Now when i think about the video my dad comes to mind. He is currently fighting colorectal cancer and seeing the patient John(who has cancer, but just a different type) and his family it really hit me hard. To see him fight and say 'im going to be fine' and that he'll come home and then to see things turn so quickly really makes me think even more about everything. I want my dad to fight and i dont want him to end treatments or to not use means to prolong his life, but i know its his decision and i dont want him to have a qualitiy of life that isn't "up to par" in his eyes. Its almost selfish to say i want him to exhaust all possibilities because I think if i was in his situation i wouldnt want to live in a quality of life that i didnt think was "up to par".
Watching this film really opened my eyes about the reality of death. Death is not always peaceful, and though that would be the way that everyone would like to go, it is not always the case. The pain and suffering that loved ones go through while on their death bed is very scary and I do not look forward to making decisions about the care that my family members should receive. I want my loved ones to pass as painlessly as possible and as peacefully as possible and I do not want to prolong their pain. A friend of the family has been battling cancer since I was very little and has gone through treatment after treatment and many surgeries to rid her body of cancer. However, the cancer just keeps coming back. She is a fighter but has recently been moved into the care of hospice. It is very sad to see cancer win the battle but she would say that every treatment and surgery was worth it to be able so stay alive long enough to raise her kids and be their for them.
ReplyDeleteThis video was hard to watch, but it shed the light on how some patients want to live and fight for their lives and others just want to die. When I watched this video I began to understand that some people will always hold out hope for their family no matter the situations. Also I started understand that some people don't want to go through watching their love ones suffer so they make the decision to take them off life support. My family had to go through this when my cousin had a stroke so I sort of get what some of the people are going through.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that the movie is very depressing. There were some noteworthy aspects of death in this age of technology that were addressed and that I think are noteworthy.
ReplyDelete1. Who is to say what the patient wants? At the very beginning of the video, a wife was deliberating whether or not a tracheotomy would be in the best interests of her husband. "I just hope I make the right choice." Likewise, the daughters of the dementia patient were torn about what their mother would want, complicating the choice with dissension. Who can say what a patient would want? If something happened to someone I cared about and I was asked whether they would want painful treatment to potentially prolong their life (perhaps with very slim odds), what would I do? I just hope I never end up in that situation.
2. Another aspect is the concept of doing nothing and how that is so difficult for some people. The wife of one of the cancer patients (Alberti, introduced towards the middle of video) explained this idea well: "Why give up? What is that going to do?" Likewise, interviews with the doctors revealed similar sentiments, as they explained how "It's scary to do nothing" and how the "what if" concern that something more might be successful plagues both doctors and patients alike.
3. Finally, no one wants a painful death. If one has to die, that person would most likely want to go peacefully. However, a peaceful death conflicts with the second point above, because it might require resignation to death. This dichotomy is expressed in one comment from the movie: "Nobody wants to die, and at the same time nobody wants to die badly." The healthcare proxy and sister of one of the patients also described this when she explained that, in reference to her brother, "I just don't want him to die in pain."
Amongst the poignant stories of the individuals who fought to survive, I found the above themes evident in every case. Everyone wants to survive, but how far is a person willing to go? How much treatment? How much pain? Is that additional--and painful--bone marrow transplant worth the small chance? Should your loved one have the tracheotomy? Death is so difficult for people to grapple with and this era of technology has--while saving many--complicated it by introducing new choices and decisions.
This movie truly moved and affected me... I've never witnessed first-hand someone "dying" (yet being kept alive) while on a respirator or through other means--so this really made that a reality to me. Although this might sound naive, I have always pictured patients of that nature in an unresponsive and comatose-type state, so seeing these patients being alive and conscious truly moved me.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this documentary centered around the patients and their families, I wish more would have been done with the doctors. As professionals in this field who see every thing (and who are obviously more knowledgeable than the average person when it comes to the dying process), I'd love to know their personal viewpoints. What they would want done, should their own spouse or even themselves were going through these processes.
The most poignant part of the film to me was the issue between deciding who made the "decisions" for one patient. It was a toss up between the man's sister and his long-time girlfriend, and both claimed to have heard different things from him at different times. I cannot imagine having a battle like that during such a trying time.
While the advancement of medicine can prolong life and give invaluable time to the families and loved ones of dying or terminally ill patients--it also brings about the question of "how far is too far". Although I am young, and my parents are (hopefully/presumably/God willing) far from death--this documentary alone made me want to sit down with them and talk about this, just to learn how they feel about these issues.
I am an emotional individual and it was very difficult for me to watch this video. I have witnessed death of family members in similar situations, but I was young and did not have to make some of the difficult decisions these families had to make (to recessitate their loved one or not). I can not image the pain from having to make that decision. I do know though that if I am in a situation myself where there is no recovery, I want to go peacefully and not rely on life support. I agree, watching this video has pushed me to have a conversation with my parents about their wishes, as well as mine.
ReplyDeleteI am such an emotional person too. Having been around death so much in my life made me ask my parents about their wishes when I was a teenager. As much as I don't want to think about death and the death of my close family members, it is something that must be done because we will all have to deal with it at some point in our lives.
DeleteWow. This video was one to make you think and feel all different types of emotions- sadness, hope, despair, etc.. I don't know what I would do in that kind of situation and am frightened of the thought of possibly doing so with my gram. I simply cannot fathom making the decision on how one of my loved ones should live or die if their health has brought them down to such debilitating stages. I know that as a nurse I will encounter families who have to make these decisions, whether it is for their grandparent, mother/father, husband/wife or child, and it makes me think how, as a healthcare provider, can I make these decisions easier, if that is possible. I agree with Laura, I would like to know what the physicians and nurses personally think and how they feel about these situations where it seems almost all hope is lost and that the underlying disease has won, but what about that small chance that treatment could bring them back from the edge, even if it is only temporary. This video has given me a lot to think about and consider on both a personal and professional level.
ReplyDeleteI've witnessed this same situation twice in the past five years with both of my aunts in the ICU. It's so hard to look at someone you love dying right in front of you, and that's why it's probably hard for them to let go of them. I always imagine what it's like for the one who's suffering. Do they know what's going on? Do they really want to be on life support? Are they really suffering? It makes me think about what I would do if I had to make a decision for a loved one to keep them alive. Would I be able to do it or not?
ReplyDeleteI thought the video was very sad, but there was really no way around that type of setting. I agree that I have no idea what I would want for myself if I were in that situation, or if I had to make the choice for someone like my mom or dad. It was interesting to see how the doctors described everything when talking to family members about how their loved ones would/could die. I think that the topic of life support will probably never really be settled because so many people have different views on it based on personal beliefs, religion, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteThis video was extremely difficult to watch. I was an emotional wreck because I hated seeing the pain the patient suffered and the difficulty they were faced with when the decision came down to the wire. It is easy to say I want x,y,and z when I am in this situation but no one can truely be certain when it comes to the moment and they are faced with a difficult decision. Before watching the video I firmly believed that if I were in that position I would not want any form of life support because it would be my hopes that I would pass away comfortably. I have not, however, given much thought to the same decision with regards to my parents and brother and sister. It would be difficult to watch someone remain in a vegetable state and still maintain hope that they will wake up and miraculously "survive" the trauma. The reality is, will the medical procedures ultimately improve the quality of life or will the person be awake but not fully be alive?
ReplyDeleteThis video made me more fear of dead. It seems that facing the dead is more difficult than I thought. It not only suffer ourself but the people we love.And we will lose the connection with the world and not exist anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult situation among patients' family in video was to decide whether take out the respirator from their relative which help to matian their life. Even the patients themself also can not be easy to make this kind of decisions before they lose the ability to make it. 95% of patients in ICU can not communicate with their family. The improvement of teachnology in one side postpones the immediate dead of people but in other side gives more hardships to family as they need to decide their family member life or dead.
Human being becomes inability in front of dead. How should we face it without fear?
This video was very emotional and brings up difficult decisions for patient's families. And how can a patient define their wishes if they are not there and able to assess the situation, and so family is left entirely with the responsibility and to make the best judgement. No one would want their loved one to suffer, but perhaps the risk of suffering is worth another chance to live out their life. I have a first hand experience and saw the miracle that someone was totally machine depended and deeply sedated turn around after five months. He suffered as he tried to recover, but he is alive and active today. You can ask him and he says it was worth the chance because he gets to watch his daughters grow up, doesn't take life for granted, and now has a close relationship with God. And it gives me hope for other patients, but at the same time, who is to say another has tolerance to be able to go through the stress of being removed off the machine? In addition, the person's body may not respond positively or perhaps they are too dependent on the machines. Not to mention the high costs, time... Even after witnessing a positive experience, I think that the decision is very hard to face. At this point, I can not distinguish a line where medical technology prolonging life while causing suffering trumps prolonging life in order for the individual to overcome the illness.
ReplyDeleteThis video was truly one of the saddest things I have ever seen. Someone suffering with no way in order to know if the patient wants to be alive or set free. It puts a lot of pressure on family and friends in order to know what is best for them. It is also hard to say what you do if you were a religious family. You do not want to see a family member suffer from so many travesties, but then again you do not want to let them go. In my opinion, if their is no hope, I think the right thing to do is to let that person go and be free from all the pain and illness. I know if I were in that position and did not have the ability to live again, I would not want to be kept alive on a machine.
ReplyDeleteThe video hit hard for me. My brother's 16 year old friend Greg was on life support due to the ATV accident, and his family decided to take him off. Till this day, Greg's mom still wonders if it was the best thing to do. I think about it all of the time; could he have made an outstanding recovery? They decided to take him off because he was completely brain dead and more than likely would never be again to gain it back. I know he was suffering and I know it was the best thing to do, but there are so many "what ifs."
ReplyDeleteThe video was tough to watch. Seeing people suffer breaks my heart. I do still believe you are alive on life support and there is a chance/miracle you can come back and survive through the sufferings. It was amazing seeing the older lady with dementia come off life support and was breathing. I would have no idea what I would do if I were in the position to have to make a decision to continue life support or a respirator or to stop it on a family member. My dad always tells me he does not want to suffer so if he ever gets to a state where he cannot function on his own he would rather just die. If I knew a loved one could survive and come through after being on life support, respirator or a ventilator I would continue even though the medical expenses would be very high. From watching this video I have learned that even to make the choice for treatments and therapy is a hard decision for the patient and the patient's family.
I love this video. Not because it shows you all the death that occurs, but because of what medical care is today. The events that take place and the statement about how every one of your body systems can survive on a machine is (shockingly) true- it's now referred to as "medical tourture". This concept is something that was taught in my chronicity course, which also opened my eyes to the many aspects of death and the life process as a whole.
ReplyDeleteChronic illness is a major reason these patients end up in hospitals; other reasons are not as important. However, I think with the education of the illness the trajectory of disease needs discussed up front also. This discussion will help patients and families decide on an Advanced Directive and put things into a perspective for all of the people involved. Many of these situations could be avoided if the family had planned the disease in advance.
I am going to steal Kristin Meyers word because I love it so much and say this video is enlightening! Yes, it is not all hunky-dory and happy but the facts and real situations make one think. This video made me want to write a Will so that my family wouldn't have to go through with making the grimest of decisions. Also, I want to have them watch it and tell them they are making a Will so I can keep a piece of sanity if this were to ever happen. This video made me realize that it could happen to anyone. I know none of these people believed it could ever happen to them.
ReplyDeleteThe video presents the numbers of dollars spent on this area of medicine but also adds in real situations for the viewer to see the pain they go through and the little hope they have to hang onto. I like that the video captures many sides from the doctors to the patients and the family members.
I thought commented on this two days ago but I guess I didn't hit publish or something. The video brought back so many upsetting memories of my two grandpas" when they were in the ICU battling cancer. They both ended up on a vent and we, as a family, had to decide to take it out or to leave it in. In both instances, we decided to take it out because we knew that the quality of life was not up to their standards. For both of my grandpas', most of the family was in the room when they passed away. The families in the videos went through exactly what I did and it is not something that I like to think about or deal with. Getting to know the people and seeing their before and after pictures was so sad. The fight and optimism that each of them had was so inspiring. Even until the bitter end they were fighting and looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. The bravery and optimism of John and Albert showed me just how important life is and the lengths that I would go to to preserve the life here on Earth. Seeing John and Albert and knowing that they both had children at home really hit me hard because I have a two year old son and I can't imagine him growing up without me. It is scary to know that anyone can experience this and that we just never know what will happen. We shouldn't take life for granted and live it to the fullest!
ReplyDeleteThis video was very interesting to watch. I feel I can relate some what with clip because I have had to had conversations with family as far as what they wanted for their love ones as far as CPR vs DNR, and its a difficult and ockaward conversation to approach especially if they have no idea what that means. It is also difficult to see families make decisions as far as do we change from cpr to dnr to pallitive care, to hospice care. This video was very educational and more people need to see it. I know death is difficult to talk about, I even try and talk to my family about it. about what they want if something were to happen, but the response i get is very short if any on the topic. I think it is very important for people to realize what is happening to their body, what do they believe and what do they want done, and they need to be well educated on the subject to make an informed decision.
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