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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Would you remove life support from your loved one if they were in a coma or related state?
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BlueMaxx
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Sorry BlueMaxx, but though I appreciate the simplicity of your answer 
, I don’t follow 
Do you mean that if the patient is in a coma-like state, they are basically already dead, and that it is the will of God for their life not to be prolonged any longer?
, I don’t follow Do you mean that if the patient is in a coma-like state, they are basically already dead, and that it is the will of God for their life not to be prolonged any longer?
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TheLittleLady
Guest
I have discussed these things with my family and close friends. They know my wishes, I know theirs.
This is very helpful, they also have someone you can call:
https://www.ncbcenter.org/publications/end-life-guide/
This is very helpful, they also have someone you can call:
https://www.ncbcenter.org/publications/end-life-guide/
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
And I’d like to add emphasis on the fact that the life support would be PROLONGING DEATH not the loved ones life (ie. you knew the patient was 90% going to pass a day after support would be removed)
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
How would your decision change if you knew this was the case?
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Or would that be MURDER?!?
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Joe_5859
Guest
It’s impossible to give a succinct Catholic answer to hypothetical situations that are vague and ambiguous.
First, you have to define what “life support” is, and then also define the prognosis for their medical condition.
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BlueMaxx
Guest
I mean that the best case scenario for all of us is to be proactive and create a living will detailing your wishes on just how much you want done to be kept “alive” so as to avoid having the decision fall to an unfortunate loved one…that was all!Sorry BlueMaxx, but though I appreciate the simplicity of your answer
Do you mean that if the patient is in a coma-like state, they are basically already dead, and that it is the will of God for their life not to be prolonged any longer?
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JulianN
Guest
Define “life support.”
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Axsenex
Guest
We did with my grandfather last year because his organs were failing & he was also a lifelong smoker… impossible to get him on the transplant list.
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Shakuhachi
Guest
It would depend on why they were in a coma or related state. What medical condition or event brought it about?
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Annie
Guest
Some comas are induced by medical people so the patient can recover from something like swelling of the brain. It would be wrong to take such a person off life support.
Another person might have had tremendous brain injuries meaning that a return to conscious living was impossible, and the only thing keeping him alive is the respirator. This person could be taken off the respirator.
And most cases are in between those two extremes.
The Church teaches that basic care is required. What constitutes basic care varies according to the patient. And the Church teaches that extraordinary care can be refused if the burden is or becomes too high. Again, the definition of extraordinary care changes according to the condition of the patient.
Another person might have had tremendous brain injuries meaning that a return to conscious living was impossible, and the only thing keeping him alive is the respirator. This person could be taken off the respirator.
And most cases are in between those two extremes.
The Church teaches that basic care is required. What constitutes basic care varies according to the patient. And the Church teaches that extraordinary care can be refused if the burden is or becomes too high. Again, the definition of extraordinary care changes according to the condition of the patient.
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Wow - that makes sense, and is definitely an easy way to avoid future turmoil! Thanks s bunch 
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Like a machine that essentially “breathed” for the patient
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
So if the going is tough we give up?
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pumpkinmay4ever
Guest
Thanks Axsenex, for the personal insight 
Just another question to clarify…
So it is OK then to “accelerate” their natural death in a case where, as you mentioned, organs are already failing and the loved one would anyways (without the life support) pass any second?
Just another question to clarify…
So it is OK then to “accelerate” their natural death in a case where, as you mentioned, organs are already failing and the loved one would anyways (without the life support) pass any second?
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Pup7
Guest
I’ve done it once, and I’d do it again if it ever comes to it.
The decision came down to me for my own father, and knowing what he wanted and what I knew to be medically accurate, I said it should be done. The four kids and my mom all agreed. So we let him go.
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po18guy
Well-known member
your answer will be found here: https://www.ncbcenter.org/
But, it will not be as exciting as arguing and debating the subject.
But, it will not be as exciting as arguing and debating the subject.
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TC2
Guest
My siblings and I did, for our mother.
She was 71, had advanced Alzheimer’s, and had suffered
a fall that wasn’t treated right away head injury at a nursing home.
By the time she got to the trauma center 2 hours away, she was
unconscious. We elected for brain surgery, to try to repair the clot.
She survived the surgery, but never woke up, never gave any sign
that she was ‘there’ anymore.
She was on a respirator, but after 10 days, we chose to remove it.
She could breathe on her own, but not well. Her heart rate went up
from 150 to over 200. She did not die right away. After 24 hours, we
chose to send her to hospice. She died another 2 days later.
Had she been kept on the respirator and sent to another nursing home,
would she have woken, or remained in a coma? If she had awoken, would she have spoken, remembered us, walked, fed herself, have any life at all? The odds were nil.
We did what we thought was merciful, and the right choice. Others will
choose differently, and that’s okay, too. It is not an easy choice, and my heart goes out, as do my prayers, to all who go through this.
She was 71, had advanced Alzheimer’s, and had suffered
a fall that wasn’t treated right away head injury at a nursing home.
By the time she got to the trauma center 2 hours away, she was
unconscious. We elected for brain surgery, to try to repair the clot.
She survived the surgery, but never woke up, never gave any sign
that she was ‘there’ anymore.
She was on a respirator, but after 10 days, we chose to remove it.
She could breathe on her own, but not well. Her heart rate went up
from 150 to over 200. She did not die right away. After 24 hours, we
chose to send her to hospice. She died another 2 days later.
Had she been kept on the respirator and sent to another nursing home,
would she have woken, or remained in a coma? If she had awoken, would she have spoken, remembered us, walked, fed herself, have any life at all? The odds were nil.
We did what we thought was merciful, and the right choice. Others will
choose differently, and that’s okay, too. It is not an easy choice, and my heart goes out, as do my prayers, to all who go through this.
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