How I Helped My Mother Starve to Death. Retired New York Times Reporter Pens Book

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I’m speechless.

If the mom was already on Hospice care, she clearly had some sort of diagnosis to be there… even if it was only “failure to thrive”. The Hospice folks I know of will honor a desire not to have a feeding tube, but I can’t imagine them allowing a person to choose intentional starvation when they are otherwise physically functioning. (I work in a nursing home with multiple Hospice providers.)
 
AmyMCGS said:
I’m speechless.

If the mom was already on Hospice care, she clearly had some sort of diagnosis to be there… even if it was only “failure to thrive”. The Hospice folks I know of will honor a desire not to have a feeding tube, **but I can’t imagine them allowing a person to choose intentional starvation when they are otherwise physically functioning. ** (I work in a nursing home with multiple Hospice providers.)
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My mom recently passed away under hospice care. And the care providers that I know, wouldn’t have noticed that a patient was starving to death.

But the article says they were active participants in the starvation. And it seems that the patient already had a tube or was eating/drinking. 🤷 But they stopped feeding her.
 
maryjk said:
My mom recently passed away under hospice care. And the care providers that I know, wouldn’t have noticed that a patient was starving to death.

But the article says they were active participants in the starvation. And it seems that the patient already had a tube or was eating/drinking. 🤷 But they stopped feeding her.
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I’m sad to think there are care providers who wouldn’t notice a patient starving to death, and sorry to hear that you’ve had experience with them.

I think Hospice rules must vary. I know of a resident who wanted to remove her feeding tube, and that was done. But she was still given IV fluids and nutrition through the IV so that she didn’t actually starve to death… she was just no longer on the feeding tube.

Regardless, the daughter in this article should not be proud of what she’s done. 😦
 
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