Monday, April 03, 2006

Kim's question about prolonging life

Kim's question:

Should man prolong life, if there is no quality of life? Do you know what a DNR is and when it becomes an issue in your life? Would you prolong your life or a family members life if their was "no hope" for recovery? How do you define "quality of life"? When does a person no longer have the "quality of life"?

Reply to email at kgray1@stu.parkland.edu or reply here.
Thanks,
Kim
Why should I want to prolong someone's life if the Lord Jesus has said a time for that person to leave. Why should anyone want to prolong someone's life especially if the are in a vegatated state. Ebonni Akins

11 comments:

English student said...

I am against prolonging life, if the person in question will be left in a "vegetable" state. Do not resuscitate orders are invaluable in many cases when a person is unable to tell the physician to not save them, after all it should be the decision of the person being affected not some family member holding on to someone who cant even feed themself. Quality of life I believe is the life you are able to lead not the good feeling you are providing for someone by just being there, while you are suffering.

English student said...

How do you define "quality of life"? When does a person no longer have the "quality of life"?

I feel that if there is no quality of life, then life should not be prolonged. Yes, I do know what DNR means. I also feel that if a person does not want to be revived, it is that individual's responsibility to complete all the paper work and to not leave it up to their loved ones to follow through on their request. It is so hard to stand by a hospital bed and watch your loved one die. At that point, I am not for sure I could honor their wishes. When the paperwork is already filled out, that decision would not be up to me. I personally do not want to live like a vegetable but on the other hand, I can't let someone die. It bothers me to kill bugs and I can't even kill a mouse.

Robbin R.

English student said...

Our family has a pack that if someone is in that situation..."pull the plug". I know that sounds harsh but we all feel that we wouldn't want to burden our love one's if there was no chance of regaining our lives. The definition of "quality of life" is a personal one. One's view is and can be completely different from another's.
Hannah

English student said...

No, Yes Do Not Resistate, I think if you have a child it is harder to make that decsion, versus a older person that has been through life, Knowing what I know now if there's no brain activity.Try to let that person go. But i don't necessarily beleive in starving a person to death to make them die that's GOD call. We all have our time and when it's time to go, just hope your where you need to be with GOD and let your family know you love them.

jena h

English student said...
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English student said...

No, I don't think we should prolong life in extreem circumstances like that of a person being brain dead. If it is time for someone to go, then let them go. If people would spend less time worrying about death, then they might actually enjoy the life they have been given. Death is a natural part of life and I don't think we should fight it to such extreems. Do not resuscitate orders can be extreemly helpful in terminal illness cases. My aunt had been batteling cancer for over four years and when she went into the hospital for the last time she had already made up her mind that if God wanted to take her home then she wasn't going to stop him. She ended up signing the do not resuscitate order without any family members present and before anyone could plea with her to change her mind. She passed away peacefully in her sleep a couple of days later. It was tough to see her go but there was also a sence of relief in knowing that she was finally better. If I were in one of these types of situations, I wouldn't want them prolonging my life either. Death doesn't scare me. If I were to die tomorrow, I would die a happy person and thats all that matters to me. Trying to define quality of life is definatly a hard one. I think a person has "quality of life" as long as they have something to smile about.


Good Luck,
Valerie Myers

English student said...

No they should not prolong life. If a person is brain dead or there is no hope of them getting better I think it just makes it hard on the person and the family. No I would not prolong my life of a family members is there was no hope of them getting better. I would not want to put my family through that. My husband had a massive heart attack and died, the doctor told me that if he would have survived he would never have been the same. I miss him terribly but I am glad he is not laying in a hospital or nursing home.

WeTona Houtzel

English student said...

I don't think that a life should be prolonged in there is no quality left. There is no quality left if a person is laying in a hospital bed hooked up to all sorts of machines and doesn't have the slightest idea about where they are at. I think it is very important for a person to have everything set in stone (on paper)before they end up in a situation like that. I don't think anyone would want to live in such a horrible state. Eventhough it is hard for loved ones to stand over someone and try to make the decsion of whether or not to continue life support, I think everyone knows deep down that nobody would want to live that way. I know I sure wouldn't want to. There has to be someplace better.

Tiffany Hartke

English student said...

Most people who decide to prolong a family member's life are doing so for their own benefit. They may not be ready to let that person go yet. However, I think it would be more painful to watch someone who love slowly die or cause them pain just because you can't say goodbye. If the person lying unconsious in a hospital bed with no idea about what is going on had the desion, I'm sure they wouldn't want to be there. People who are DNR know they don't want that to happen to them, which is why they request to not be brought back to life. My parents expressed to me that they did not want to be kept alive by artificial means. When their body wears out, they are going to heaven and they don't want it to be postponed. It would be very hard to hold the desision of whether or not my parents will live or die, but, like I said before, it's up to them.
Teresa Osterbur

English student said...

I think that once someone is lying in bed at a hospital, hooked up to ten different machines, and miserable, I think it is okay just to let go and die. I would rather die than lay there and suffer. You basically have no life once you can't do the things you used to everyday. Relatives barely come see you because they feel as if they should, you are taken care of by people you barely know, and I think it has no more point to be living anymore. DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate. I think that is a good idea that they have this so patients can choose and decide that if they are dying, the doctor or whoever it not allowed to save them. I think that everyone has their own definition of quality of life. But I think once someone says that they have fully lived the happy life they have wanted to live and accomplished all their goals and wouldn't care if they died today, then they have lived their life to the fullest.

Elizabeth Moody

English student said...

I believe that decision is not for me to make. I feel that is to be made by the person who is in need of having their life prolonged. I think that most people would have a feel of how their loved one would want them to respond in this situation. They should know if the person would want to go on fighting or if they want to go in piece.
My grandmother always told her kids that she would rather die than sit around in pain all of the time.
I think DNR stands for “Do Not Resuscitate,” this is a request that is ether denied or granted for terminally ill patients.
David Floyd