Parent Rights vs. Doctor Diagnosis
 

Posted on Thu, Mar. 02, 2006
Judge extends 2-year-old's life support

BY ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press

The parents of a 2-year-old boy who nearly drowned won a temporary reprieve Wednesday in their battle to keep Wesley Medical Center from pulling the plug on their son's life support.

District Judge Timothy Lahey ordered Wesley to provide medical care and barred doctors from removing life support until at least March 21, when he will revisit the case.

Lahey also refused a request by the hospital and doctors to order -- against the parents' wishes -- a brain viability study and other tests to determine whether Brett Shively Jr. is brain dead, as his doctors believe.

The boy has been in the hospital since he nearly drowned in the family bathtub Feb. 4.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/13996516.htm

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Question Should patient care be left in the hands of family (in this case, the boy's parents) or should it be left up to the doctor?

Give the boy time.... thats crap to just rush and pull the plug... whats the worse that can come from this??? He wake up and live a productive life??

Patient care should definately be left up to the family. I'm very biased because in 2002 my sister had a near drowning, and was deprived of oxygen for over 20 minutes. She was in a coma, and the doctors did all these tests and told my parents that half my sister's brain was dead and that she would be a vegetable for the rest of her life. The next day she woke up, and now after almost 4 years she is almost 100% back to normal. In her situation, the doctors had no clue what they were talking about, and if my parents had gone on their word, its possible that my sister wouldn't be here.

Another group that should have no say is the insurance company. After my sister awoke from her coma, they didn't want to pay for her to enter a rehab hospital, and wanted to put her in a nursing home. A 12 year old in a nursing home? My parents fought them on it, and after a year of therapy my sister was able to do almost everything for herself.

I sometimes wonder why hospitals and doctors are in a rush to pull the plug on patients, but after watching the process of organ donation on television, I (sort of) understand. Maybe the doctors felt that the patient's organs would be of use to some terminally ill patients and the longer they wait, the higher the risk that those patients would perish as well...

Not to excuse their unethical (and maybe immoral) practices, but it may be one of the reasons...

It's about the almight $$$$. Hospitals need to turn the beds over at a certain rate to make money. And the docs are pressured to do that by the admin who are pressured by the board of directors.

Yeah, I watch House, MD. It's sad, but true

Health Advocacy...
 

When something like that happens to a patient, it takes strong advocacy to get information to make the best decision.

That takes knowledge. And it is very difficult to do when there are too many variables. I think that doctors are trying their best to make the best call they can, but sometimes their wrong.

But they do appreciate patients or loved ones of patients to start asking every question in the book. And if a doctor does not appreciate that, they are probably of the old guard and have issues that go beyond the best in health care.

When I had an emergency, I was fortunate to have my boss being a cardiologist and my advocate until my family could come a make decisions for me, if I was unable to. I also had several other cardiologists confirm their suspicions through what is called differentials (med school training). Then, I had the entire neurology team examine me.

Now, I do not have that kind of support--except through the kindness of strangers--but, I can ask the hard questions--everything I need to know to make the best decision for my health. And I do get on my medical doctors like white on rice. They will not pull on over on me.

I've had that happen to me before.

So who should have to say so for patient care when the patient is unable to be the advocate--the loved one (parents, S/O, health advocate). They can stabilize a patient for so long and make the best decision. Experts can be questioned from other institutions...

I might have to undergo a senstive procedure, you had better be dayum certain I will be asking several of my physcian friends what they think...