They give them nothing but morphine? Is that not euthanasia? Was in-home hospice pt because hospice & palliative care have you in a financial catch22. No matter what you choose, it is not the best care. Item: Pt got herself down hall to bathroom, muscles weakened & she ran out of energy, sunk to floor in bathroom. Could not get her into her wheelchair but in moving her toward chair, I discovered her O2 tube was no longer connected to her cannula. Immediately we reconnected but still needed help to get her up off floor. We called 911. EMTs said her vitals were perfect & she was "strong woman" but they insisted she go to hospital. Somehow ER staff got 1 of the healthcare proxies to sign DNR for pt and now she's in hospice receiving no food or water. Of course she will die from dehydration, if nothing else. This is criminal to me. How can this be legally acceptable for someone who does not want this & she's so doped up, she can't complain except in someone's ear: "Get me out of here."? She may be in end-stage COPD but she is only dying with medical help she does not want. She asked not to die in-hospital & refused to sign a DNR & I don't understand this at all. Is there anything at all I can do?
Forum members should ALL quit engaging this crap on all the Hospice hater threads. Over and out.....
The more you know about how the body works, the better it is to understand what is happening to your love one.
Hospice doesn't stop food and water. It's the patient who refuses to eat or drink as they know that death is coming soon. There is nothing one can do to reverse that, except make the patient very comfortable. You wouldn't want your friend in terrible pain and COPD can make a person feel like they are suffocating.
Just curious, who did sign the DNR?
If home care results in a fall, you are better off in a hospital where multiple people can move the patient and a hoyer lift is available.
The DNR is signed by the HCP and the doctor. It is not up to the HCP alone.
It is not easy to sign that paper, but watching someone suffocate without morphine to help the breathing would be unbearable.
Morphine also shuts down breathing.
medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682133.html
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