RocketMedic
Californian, Lost in Texas
- 4,998
- 1,462
- 113
Well, my white cloud of "very few cardiac arrests" finally ran out, and I was presented with an interesting case ethically.
Elderly M Hx almost everything, periarrest on arrival to FD treating respiratory arrest. Patient had half-complete (MD had not signed) DNR, patient's wife did not want to see him suffer and was quite distraught. I made a quick call to the local medical control, explained the situation and got permission to terminate resuscitation, family was grateful, etc.
After I called it, I spent a few minutes with the family. His wife was emotional, but relieved. His life had been pretty rough for the last few years, and he'd been "ready to pass on" for quite some time. Then we got to talking about their family and 60+ years together, and found out that she may have known my (birth) great-grandfather (divorced my great-grandmother after WW2 because his Oklahoman family disapproved of her being Japanese, moved back to Oklahoma and...apparently met these folks. Small world.) Anyways, it was a pretty emotional event for her, and I'm glad that I listened to reason and ethics and my inner EMTLifer and didn't just follow algorithms and protocols and prolong this patient/family's suffering. A learning experience for me.
He went from horses and a car being a nigh-unheard of luxury and airplanes being vanishingly rare to a combat veteran in WW2 (quite decorated) to a civil servant, all while raising a large and thriving family, and dying with some measure of peace and dignity with his family around him. Rest in peace, sir.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwq9RCeISY
Elderly M Hx almost everything, periarrest on arrival to FD treating respiratory arrest. Patient had half-complete (MD had not signed) DNR, patient's wife did not want to see him suffer and was quite distraught. I made a quick call to the local medical control, explained the situation and got permission to terminate resuscitation, family was grateful, etc.
After I called it, I spent a few minutes with the family. His wife was emotional, but relieved. His life had been pretty rough for the last few years, and he'd been "ready to pass on" for quite some time. Then we got to talking about their family and 60+ years together, and found out that she may have known my (birth) great-grandfather (divorced my great-grandmother after WW2 because his Oklahoman family disapproved of her being Japanese, moved back to Oklahoma and...apparently met these folks. Small world.) Anyways, it was a pretty emotional event for her, and I'm glad that I listened to reason and ethics and my inner EMTLifer and didn't just follow algorithms and protocols and prolong this patient/family's suffering. A learning experience for me.
He went from horses and a car being a nigh-unheard of luxury and airplanes being vanishingly rare to a combat veteran in WW2 (quite decorated) to a civil servant, all while raising a large and thriving family, and dying with some measure of peace and dignity with his family around him. Rest in peace, sir.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwq9RCeISY
