This video definitely wasn't an easy one to watch, but I think one of the surprising parts to me was how positive some of the people remained throughout the whole process. And I mean that more in a sense of putting myself in that situation I don't know if I could stay so calm. I know that once you're actually in that situation things change. Like the wife said what else can they do they can't give up. I can't say I have had anything like this happen to me before cause like I said I wouldn't know how to handle going through that rather being the patient or the family
Kevin, that was another thing that surprised me in the video as well. How calm and in order the people seemed to be in their situations. The strength and will power to fight for something more, having those moments of hope, and the will to fight. As that lady said "why give up? what's that get you?" Really makes you think about things, and I think in some way she is right. I think back to when my grandma was in the hospital numerous times for cancer and the whole family was fairly calm. Sure we all had our moments outside of the hospital where we were frustrated and upset, but inside the hospital we always seemed to have composure and hope.
Kevin, I agree with what you have said about the positivity of the people. I also wrote about the amazing positive feelings that shown throughout the video.
I agree with you Kevin. However, in the case of the man who was terminally ill and was in and out of the hospital. I think they needed to be as positive as possible for him because he knew he was fighting an uphill battle. Sometimes, positive reinforcement can benefit someone who is fighting cancer or a terminal illness, and other times, such as the grandmother on the respirator, you just need to accept the fact that they need to pass
This video was very surprising to me for a number of reasons. As Kevin stated I was also amazed by how strong and positive the people in these situations were. Not only the patients themselves but also their families. Another surprising thing for me was the responsibility put onto these family members, especially those designated as the health proxies for the patients. They were given the responsibility, in some cases, to decide whether a loved one lived or died. I was also surprised when one of the doctor's talked about how she sometimes questioned if she was doing the right thing for her patients. She questioned herself on whether or not a surgery or certain treatment made the patient's life easier or just added painful time to the end of their life. This is interesting to me because although a doctor can give his or her opinion on what to do it is not always them who makes the final decision. I have never personally had an experience that relates to the issues in Facing Death but I believe it would be very hard to make those decisions. It would be very important to always remember the well being of your loved one who may be dying.
Abby, what stood out to me as well was the doctors struggle with what she could or could not do for her patients and if what she was doing would help or hurt her patients. Although it's science there is still a great amount of uncertainty that goes with it. It doesn't seem right because science is supposed to be absolute.
This is one reason I could never become a doctor. It is hard enough being apart of the decision on if your own family member stays on life supporting machines or not. I could not imagine having to make that kind of a decision for someone else's loved family member.
The experiences I have had similar to the ones on Facing Death have been in the field. I have been faced with deciding whether or not someone is viable enough to work a full cardiac arrest or whether to pronounce a person deceased. It's very hard when a patient's family is standing over you, crying, pleading for you to do something, anything to bring their child, parent, sister, brother, father back to life. Doing CPR and administering the medications to jump start someones heart is actually the easiest part of a resuscitation effort. The difficult part is when it doesn't work, telling the family their loved one is dead, especially if it's an infant or child. What stood out to me in the video the most was even though the patients were told their conditions were terminal, that they have had everything done for them they could the patients held on to what little hope they could for as long as they could. What also stood out to me was the doctors were not as specific with the patients and their families as they could have been. They didn't bring up quality of life post resuscitation when informing them of DNR's.ie: being on a ventilator in a vegetative state....
Melissa, I also admire you for what you do. It must be very hard trying to remove your own personal emotions when dealing with patients and their families when you know they are not going to make it.
The most surprising thing about this video would have to be that some of those people seem to not deserve being in there. The man with young children shouldn't have to be in the hospital but should be out with his children. I have been in the situation of watching love ones die. I saw my grandfather being in a coma and dying a few days later in hospice. I have seen my grandma being taken care of by a nurse at her home to later die of lung cancer. I was there for my fiance when his grandma was in a car accident and put on life support. His family had to make the tough decision of letting her go. I have also dealt with my mom in and out of hospitals. She has had two brain surgeries and we were unsure if she was going to make it through. This video showed me how much love and support from family in difficult times is needed.
The most surprising thing to me about the video Facing Death was when it mentioned how a lot of people haven't discussed their decisions about their life with someone who is important to them, and who would be responsible to ensure that those decisions are followed through on. There seems to be a lot of health care proxies out there who are having to make hard decisions about someone else's life, and as seen in the video, that can be really hard and take a toll on someone. Over the years I have had two of my uncle's commit suicide, and one of them was found shortly after the incident and was rushed to the hospital. He was alive but had severe brain damage and was living on a ventilator. My grandpa had to make the decision on what to do, and I know it was an extremely hard decision for him, and the family as a whole. Within only a few days the decision was to let my uncle go, and all his organs went to others in need. As for other experiences, I have watched my one grandma fight numerous kinds of cancer and die, my dad have a heart attack and have to change his lifestyle, friends and their families deal with unthinkable situations and be there for them, and most recently, my other grandma has been in the hospital for the last 7.5 weeks. Nobody likes to think about things like this, but having an amazing support system is something that always helps.
Holding someone's power-of-attorney or being their health care proxy can be extremely taxing. Sometimes, people don't know they've been designated as such, or other family members try to brow beat them for the decisions. Truly, it's a thankless job. That's why it's so important to let people know your stance on things when you're healthy. That way, down the road, everyone can retain some degree of dignity.
Christine, you are so right about everything you said. It's definitely nice to plan ahead for the unexpected and be prepared for things are much as one can be. And, communicate with one another, let people in the family know and be aware of the things one would like to do if they aren't able to fully make the decisions on their own at a point in time.
The most surprising thing to me about the video Facing Death was how people tend to ignore almost if the patients changes their wishes. The man had told his girlfriend he wanted it to end but because he did not express that to his sister there was nothing the girlfriend could do about it. My mother and step father have been together since I was six months old and if anything were to happen to my mother I would be who the hospital goes to. I would of course talk to my dad and siblings about this, no one would be ignored. It seems that in the situation people try to say they are doing what is best for the patient but end up doing selfish things and doing what they feel they want for the patient. I feel that everyone needs to have a living will. When I was in the hospital having my son, I immediately made a will with the nurses so that if anything were to happen before I went back for my C-section, it was common knowledge if you will on what I wanted if things went badly. I feel that the choices of staying on life support or going comfortably need to be made by the person not by the family. It should almost be mandatory to have something in place in case of any accidents. The closest experience I have had was with my great aunt. She had been in and out of the hospital for five years until one day she called all of us into her hospital room and said she was tired. We all had our many rounds of tears and then came to the decision that it was what was best for her and put our wants of keeping her with us aside and did what she wanted. That day was one of the hardest days of my life so far.
Destiny I can sympathize with the idea that everyone should have a living will. But I believe that for most it is hard to face the reality the something that drastic may happen, and they may not be capable of making a decision later on.
Destiny, I agree that everyone should have a living will in case of accidents however, I understand where Jacob is coming from that most people don't realize there may come a time when they cannot make the decisions regarding their health.
Destiny, I completely agree with your statement about patients wishes being ignored because the family cannot let go. One of the things that bothers me most in my job is when a patient has a "Do Not Resuscitate" or DNR it usually means the patient wishes to die in their own home with dignity. Often times the family will freak out, panic and demand we take them to the ER. It's not what the patient wants at all. So we end up taking the patient to the ER to die instead of doing what the patient wants.
What surprised me most about the video was how positive, understanding, and compassionate the doctors were about the patient's condition, and how emotionally supportive they were towards the family. I do not believe it is a common practice for the doctor to give someone a hug or a shoulder to cry on after making the decision to say goodbye to a love one. I have gone through two situations similar to the ones shown in Facing Death. Both involved an elderly grandparent. Although I was not personally involved in the decision making process I saw how hard it was for my parents, aunts, and uncles to decide wether keeping them alive was actually helping or just prolonging the inevitable.
With how supportive the doctors were, that is something that they don't teach in school and it is learned on your own. I think that all doctors should have the boldness to do this when ever they have to give bad news, because it shows the family that they care as well
What really stood out for me was how the doctors dealt with the families versus the patients. In a few of the situations, what the doctors were saying to each sounded different. If only through word choice, they sounded encouraging to the patients while discouraging to the family. But, my biggest grievance was with during the meeting with Phyllis, Norman's sister. When she asked for a straight answer, they answered her with a question. I know that it's something that family members need to make peace with themselves; but, if they're asking, then they should be treated respectfully and given an answer. Again, my mother is a nurse and I have heard a countless number of these scenarios. It never helps the family to patronize them. It only makes the process harder for everyone involved, including the medical staff.
I was most surprised by the amount of strength each of these patients had even after multiple treatments or procedures had failed, they were still willing to keep going. I understand you don't want to give up and you want to keep holding out hope that you might recover, but after multiple failures keeping such a positive attitude would be very difficult. I have not had any personal experiences related to the issues in the video; however, I have taken care of patients whose families have had to make decisions about sending them to hospice and most of these families either do not understand the severity of their loved ones condition or they are not willing to accept how sick their loved ones are.
I was also surprised by the positivity and perseverance of many of the patients and their families, even with such serious conditions. It is something I would personally have a hard time doing.
Abby, i agree with you. I was suprised by this too. But thats something that a lot of us grow up on. Believing that miracles do happen. So to us, there is always a chance no matter the odds.
I was also surprised that the patients were so upbeat and positive in the situations where they could still speak. If i were in this situation I would definitely be wanting to give up.
The video was very interest and easy to stay interested in. I was most surprised by how well not only the families were able to take the process, but the patients also seemed to remain very calm through throughout. I could not imagine having to go through something similar to this for myself or a family member.
The thing that i found most interesting in this video was when the point was brought up where the doctor mentions that not enough people talk to their loved ones about whether they would perfer to be kept alive or not. When i learned about this before, i thought about what i would want for me and that has not changed. That being said though, i have never talked to the ones that would be forced to make that decision for me.
What was surprising in the view was how long the family kept their loved ones on life support. I understand that it is hard to let them go, but I find it harder to leave them on the life support, and not letting them pass peacefully. In my life when my grandmother was dying, my mom got herself ready for her passing, as where my aunt did not and it hit her hard. My mother knew that when the doctors could not do anything else and that my grandmother was just on life support, my mother decided it was time to let her go in peace and not to keep her in agony.
I completely agree with you Josh. When seeing someone breathing on life support and on a respirator you think that maybe there is still a chance that a miracle will happen. There just comes a point where a person just needs to cope with the loss as you said and prepare to lose.
I watched this video last year but watching again made me think more about the grandmother who was kept alive by the respirator . Even though she was loved by her grandchildren and children, there has to be a point when you have to say goodbye and let them die in peace rather than prolong their suffering. For me personally, my grandmother was being kept alive by a respirator and the whole family agreed it was time to go rather than prolong hers and our suffering.
After watching the Frontline program, it's hard not be a little bit frustrated watching the scenarios. At times, drastic treatments could be needed to help a patient survice; however, there comes a point where this must stop. Watching doctors throw every possible high tech treatment at a patient who is obviously at the end of their life and in the process of dying is difficult It's hard to imagine and seems demeaning to the patient be a part of a futile treatment plan. Just because treatment can be offered, doesn't mean it always should. If there is a chance at recover, then yes be all means provide care. If it is clear death is inevitable, then no it should not. This only provides false hope to a family that struggles to say "no" because they don't want to feel like they are giving up on their loved one. Care ought to move from recovery to comfort at this point.
To me the most interesting thing about the video was how far the one man was willing to go in order to try to stay alive. Even after numerous treatments and and admissions into the hospital the man would not give up, he was willing to have any procedure performed that could help his chance of survival. The man had practically zero chance of survival and still wanted treatment that both his wife and doctor had to talk him out of. My only encounter with death was watching my grandpa die. In his case not many issues occurred, the family watched him quickly deteriorate over 2 weeks. Every one in the family agreed that it was his time to go so we let him go peacefully without putting him through all of the treatment that were seen in the movie
I agree that the man had an amazing vitality that is rarely seen in most people. His will to live and be there with his loved one was truly inspiring to all those who have lost the will to try anymore.
The thing that i was most surprised about the video was the fact that non of the doctors tried to push their own beliefs onto to the patients family's or loved ones. I think that is was great how they had the meetings with the family's to sit down and actually talk about the truth and what really was going to happen. Fortunately I have not had to deal with death to anyone who has been really close to me.
That is a good point- it takes a good deal of professionalism to remain calm and patient even when the families views and ideals can vary greatly from the doctors'. That is probably one of the main reasons I could never do what these doctors do- I think I would feel too strongly about my own opinions to avoid being or simply sounding biased when explaining the situation to a family.
I found the most surprising thing in the video was how many of the patients seemed upbeat even though their chances of surviving were grim. I was also taken back by the fact every single patient in the film did end up dying. The closest death I have experienced in my family was my grandpa when I was a sophomore in high school. He had bad heart problems and it wasn't easy watching him get worse and worse. It was a tough time because that same year my other grandpa (who is still alive) was diagnosed with cancer.
The thing that I found most surprising about the video was how caring the doctors were for the patients and the families. They did not state what there own personal opinions they completely left it up to the families to think and decide on there own. I have dealt with death once before when my grandma was dying of cancer. I remember it being a very hard time for my family. Luckily I was too young to really grasp what was going on at the time.
what I found surprising about this video is when they pulled out the breathing tube from the lady and she continued to breath. this is a very difficult video to watch but I feel like it is good to see. I have had to go through a situation like this with my grandfather and I know it is something that is hard but these are things you have to go through throughout life.
This video was interesting for me because it displayed a perspective not often talked about on the issue: that of the doctor. Quite often the relationship considered is that of patient with friends and family, which is no surprise, but the place of the doctor involved in such a situation is a precarious one as well, which deserves consideration due to their constant exposure to what are otherwise once-in-a-lifetime moments to others.
This was my second time watching this video, but that didn't make it any easier. The amount of pain the patients and their families are going through must be immense. The part in the video that stands out to me the most is when the two sisters can't agree on whether or not to take their mother's ventilator tube out. Situations like that can tear families apart, and I am thankful that nothing like that has occurred yet in my life, and hopefully never will. The video actually prompted me to talk with my family about death, which was still awkward and uneasy even after watching the video. Afterwards, however, I did feel a little better having discussed it with them.
This is also my second time watching this video, but despite this fact i still feel the exact same way as i did the first time i watched the video. The pain and anguish that each of the family experiences seeing a loved one go through is by no means a happy sight. I cant stand the fact that people need respirators i feel that when the doctors put these in the patient undergoes so much pain. The death of a loved one can put any family through the ringer no matter how close they are. Despite most patients receiving the maximum amount of treatment and if it does not end up working they end up wanting to continue despite the fact nothing is working. Its a sad sight to say the least. After watching this video made me talk to my family about death. They were fairly surprised considering i never mentioned it before. I felt reassured and better after having the conversation with them.
This video definitely wasn't an easy one to watch, but I think one of the surprising parts to me was how positive some of the people remained throughout the whole process. And I mean that more in a sense of putting myself in that situation I don't know if I could stay so calm. I know that once you're actually in that situation things change. Like the wife said what else can they do they can't give up. I can't say I have had anything like this happen to me before cause like I said I wouldn't know how to handle going through that rather being the patient or the family
ReplyDeleteKevin, that was another thing that surprised me in the video as well. How calm and in order the people seemed to be in their situations. The strength and will power to fight for something more, having those moments of hope, and the will to fight. As that lady said "why give up? what's that get you?" Really makes you think about things, and I think in some way she is right. I think back to when my grandma was in the hospital numerous times for cancer and the whole family was fairly calm. Sure we all had our moments outside of the hospital where we were frustrated and upset, but inside the hospital we always seemed to have composure and hope.
DeleteKevin, I agree with what you have said about the positivity of the people. I also wrote about the amazing positive feelings that shown throughout the video.
DeleteI agree with you Kevin. However, in the case of the man who was terminally ill and was in and out of the hospital. I think they needed to be as positive as possible for him because he knew he was fighting an uphill battle. Sometimes, positive reinforcement can benefit someone who is fighting cancer or a terminal illness, and other times, such as the grandmother on the respirator, you just need to accept the fact that they need to pass
DeleteThis video was very surprising to me for a number of reasons. As Kevin stated I was also amazed by how strong and positive the people in these situations were. Not only the patients themselves but also their families. Another surprising thing for me was the responsibility put onto these family members, especially those designated as the health proxies for the patients. They were given the responsibility, in some cases, to decide whether a loved one lived or died. I was also surprised when one of the doctor's talked about how she sometimes questioned if she was doing the right thing for her patients. She questioned herself on whether or not a surgery or certain treatment made the patient's life easier or just added painful time to the end of their life. This is interesting to me because although a doctor can give his or her opinion on what to do it is not always them who makes the final decision. I have never personally had an experience that relates to the issues in Facing Death but I believe it would be very hard to make those decisions. It would be very important to always remember the well being of your loved one who may be dying.
ReplyDeleteAbby, what stood out to me as well was the doctors struggle with what she could or could not do for her patients and if what she was doing would help or hurt her patients. Although it's science there is still a great amount of uncertainty that goes with it. It doesn't seem right because science is supposed to be absolute.
DeleteThis is one reason I could never become a doctor. It is hard enough being apart of the decision on if your own family member stays on life supporting machines or not. I could not imagine having to make that kind of a decision for someone else's loved family member.
DeleteThe experiences I have had similar to the ones on Facing Death have been in the field. I have been faced with deciding whether or not someone is viable enough to work a full cardiac arrest or whether to pronounce a person deceased. It's very hard when a patient's family is standing over you, crying, pleading for you to do something, anything to bring their child, parent, sister, brother, father back to life. Doing CPR and administering the medications to jump start someones heart is actually the easiest part of a resuscitation effort. The difficult part is when it doesn't work, telling the family their loved one is dead, especially if it's an infant or child. What stood out to me in the video the most was even though the patients were told their conditions were terminal, that they have had everything done for them they could the patients held on to what little hope they could for as long as they could. What also stood out to me was the doctors were not as specific with the patients and their families as they could have been. They didn't bring up quality of life post resuscitation when informing them of DNR's.ie: being on a ventilator in a vegetative state....
ReplyDeleteI admire you for what you have done. It cant be easy to do what you do but thank you for doing it.
DeleteMelissa, I also admire you for what you do. It must be very hard trying to remove your own personal emotions when dealing with patients and their families when you know they are not going to make it.
DeleteThe most surprising thing about this video would have to be that some of those people seem to not deserve being in there. The man with young children shouldn't have to be in the hospital but should be out with his children. I have been in the situation of watching love ones die. I saw my grandfather being in a coma and dying a few days later in hospice. I have seen my grandma being taken care of by a nurse at her home to later die of lung cancer. I was there for my fiance when his grandma was in a car accident and put on life support. His family had to make the tough decision of letting her go. I have also dealt with my mom in and out of hospitals. She has had two brain surgeries and we were unsure if she was going to make it through. This video showed me how much love and support from family in difficult times is needed.
ReplyDeleteThe most surprising thing to me about the video Facing Death was when it mentioned how a lot of people haven't discussed their decisions about their life with someone who is important to them, and who would be responsible to ensure that those decisions are followed through on. There seems to be a lot of health care proxies out there who are having to make hard decisions about someone else's life, and as seen in the video, that can be really hard and take a toll on someone. Over the years I have had two of my uncle's commit suicide, and one of them was found shortly after the incident and was rushed to the hospital. He was alive but had severe brain damage and was living on a ventilator. My grandpa had to make the decision on what to do, and I know it was an extremely hard decision for him, and the family as a whole. Within only a few days the decision was to let my uncle go, and all his organs went to others in need. As for other experiences, I have watched my one grandma fight numerous kinds of cancer and die, my dad have a heart attack and have to change his lifestyle, friends and their families deal with unthinkable situations and be there for them, and most recently, my other grandma has been in the hospital for the last 7.5 weeks. Nobody likes to think about things like this, but having an amazing support system is something that always helps.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your response. I think it needs to be a requirement of some sort that something is in place in case of an emergency.
DeleteHolding someone's power-of-attorney or being their health care proxy can be extremely taxing. Sometimes, people don't know they've been designated as such, or other family members try to brow beat them for the decisions. Truly, it's a thankless job. That's why it's so important to let people know your stance on things when you're healthy. That way, down the road, everyone can retain some degree of dignity.
DeleteChristine, you are so right about everything you said. It's definitely nice to plan ahead for the unexpected and be prepared for things are much as one can be. And, communicate with one another, let people in the family know and be aware of the things one would like to do if they aren't able to fully make the decisions on their own at a point in time.
DeleteThe most surprising thing to me about the video Facing Death was how people tend to ignore almost if the patients changes their wishes. The man had told his girlfriend he wanted it to end but because he did not express that to his sister there was nothing the girlfriend could do about it. My mother and step father have been together since I was six months old and if anything were to happen to my mother I would be who the hospital goes to. I would of course talk to my dad and siblings about this, no one would be ignored. It seems that in the situation people try to say they are doing what is best for the patient but end up doing selfish things and doing what they feel they want for the patient. I feel that everyone needs to have a living will. When I was in the hospital having my son, I immediately made a will with the nurses so that if anything were to happen before I went back for my C-section, it was common knowledge if you will on what I wanted if things went badly. I feel that the choices of staying on life support or going comfortably need to be made by the person not by the family. It should almost be mandatory to have something in place in case of any accidents. The closest experience I have had was with my great aunt. She had been in and out of the hospital for five years until one day she called all of us into her hospital room and said she was tired. We all had our many rounds of tears and then came to the decision that it was what was best for her and put our wants of keeping her with us aside and did what she wanted. That day was one of the hardest days of my life so far.
ReplyDeleteDestiny I can sympathize with the idea that everyone should have a living will. But I believe that for most it is hard to face the reality the something that drastic may happen, and they may not be capable of making a decision later on.
DeleteDestiny, I agree that everyone should have a living will in case of accidents however, I understand where Jacob is coming from that most people don't realize there may come a time when they cannot make the decisions regarding their health.
DeleteDestiny, I completely agree with your statement about patients wishes being ignored because the family cannot let go. One of the things that bothers me most in my job is when a patient has a "Do Not Resuscitate" or DNR it usually means the patient wishes to die in their own home with dignity. Often times the family will freak out, panic and demand we take them to the ER. It's not what the patient wants at all. So we end up taking the patient to the ER to die instead of doing what the patient wants.
DeleteWhat surprised me most about the video was how positive, understanding, and compassionate the doctors were about the patient's condition, and how emotionally supportive they were towards the family. I do not believe it is a common practice for the doctor to give someone a hug or a shoulder to cry on after making the decision to say goodbye to a love one. I have gone through two situations similar to the ones shown in Facing Death. Both involved an elderly grandparent. Although I was not personally involved in the decision making process I saw how hard it was for my parents, aunts, and uncles to decide wether keeping them alive was actually helping or just prolonging the inevitable.
ReplyDeleteWith how supportive the doctors were, that is something that they don't teach in school and it is learned on your own. I think that all doctors should have the boldness to do this when ever they have to give bad news, because it shows the family that they care as well
DeleteWhat really stood out for me was how the doctors dealt with the families versus the patients. In a few of the situations, what the doctors were saying to each sounded different. If only through word choice, they sounded encouraging to the patients while discouraging to the family. But, my biggest grievance was with during the meeting with Phyllis, Norman's sister. When she asked for a straight answer, they answered her with a question. I know that it's something that family members need to make peace with themselves; but, if they're asking, then they should be treated respectfully and given an answer. Again, my mother is a nurse and I have heard a countless number of these scenarios. It never helps the family to patronize them. It only makes the process harder for everyone involved, including the medical staff.
ReplyDeleteI was most surprised by the amount of strength each of these patients had even after multiple treatments or procedures had failed, they were still willing to keep going. I understand you don't want to give up and you want to keep holding out hope that you might recover, but after multiple failures keeping such a positive attitude would be very difficult. I have not had any personal experiences related to the issues in the video; however, I have taken care of patients whose families have had to make decisions about sending them to hospice and most of these families either do not understand the severity of their loved ones condition or they are not willing to accept how sick their loved ones are.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised by the positivity and perseverance of many of the patients and their families, even with such serious conditions. It is something I would personally have a hard time doing.
ReplyDeleteAbby, i agree with you. I was suprised by this too. But thats something that a lot of us grow up on. Believing that miracles do happen. So to us, there is always a chance no matter the odds.
DeleteI was also surprised that the patients were so upbeat and positive in the situations where they could still speak. If i were in this situation I would definitely be wanting to give up.
DeleteThe video was very interest and easy to stay interested in. I was most surprised by how well not only the families were able to take the process, but the patients also seemed to remain very calm through throughout. I could not imagine having to go through something similar to this for myself or a family member.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that i found most interesting in this video was when the point was brought up where the doctor mentions that not enough people talk to their loved ones about whether they would perfer to be kept alive or not. When i learned about this before, i thought about what i would want for me and that has not changed. That being said though, i have never talked to the ones that would be forced to make that decision for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat was surprising in the view was how long the family kept their loved ones on life support. I understand that it is hard to let them go, but I find it harder to leave them on the life support, and not letting them pass peacefully. In my life when my grandmother was dying, my mom got herself ready for her passing, as where my aunt did not and it hit her hard. My mother knew that when the doctors could not do anything else and that my grandmother was just on life support, my mother decided it was time to let her go in peace and not to keep her in agony.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Josh. When seeing someone breathing on life support and on a respirator you think that maybe there is still a chance that a miracle will happen. There just comes a point where a person just needs to cope with the loss as you said and prepare to lose.
DeleteI watched this video last year but watching again made me think more about the grandmother who was kept alive by the respirator . Even though she was loved by her grandchildren and children, there has to be a point when you have to say goodbye and let them die in peace rather than prolong their suffering. For me personally, my grandmother was being kept alive by a respirator and the whole family agreed it was time to go rather than prolong hers and our suffering.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the Frontline program, it's hard not be a little bit frustrated watching the scenarios. At times, drastic treatments could be needed to help a patient survice; however, there comes a point where this must stop. Watching doctors throw every possible high tech treatment at a patient who is obviously at the end of their life and in the process of dying is difficult It's hard to imagine and seems demeaning to the patient be a part of a futile treatment plan. Just because treatment can be offered, doesn't mean it always should. If there is a chance at recover, then yes be all means provide care. If it is clear death is inevitable, then no it should not. This only provides false hope to a family that struggles to say "no" because they don't want to feel like they are giving up on their loved one. Care ought to move from recovery to comfort at this point.
ReplyDeleteTo me the most interesting thing about the video was how far the one man was willing to go in order to try to stay alive. Even after numerous treatments and and admissions into the hospital the man would not give up, he was willing to have any procedure performed that could help his chance of survival. The man had practically zero chance of survival and still wanted treatment that both his wife and doctor had to talk him out of. My only encounter with death was watching my grandpa die. In his case not many issues occurred, the family watched him quickly deteriorate over 2 weeks. Every one in the family agreed that it was his time to go so we let him go peacefully without putting him through all of the treatment that were seen in the movie
ReplyDeleteI agree that the man had an amazing vitality that is rarely seen in most people. His will to live and be there with his loved one was truly inspiring to all those who have lost the will to try anymore.
DeleteThe thing that i was most surprised about the video was the fact that non of the doctors tried to push their own beliefs onto to the patients family's or loved ones. I think that is was great how they had the meetings with the family's to sit down and actually talk about the truth and what really was going to happen. Fortunately I have not had to deal with death to anyone who has been really close to me.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way Chris. The doctors were very patient with the families to try and make the process as comforting as possible.
DeleteThat is a good point- it takes a good deal of professionalism to remain calm and patient even when the families views and ideals can vary greatly from the doctors'. That is probably one of the main reasons I could never do what these doctors do- I think I would feel too strongly about my own opinions to avoid being or simply sounding biased when explaining the situation to a family.
DeleteI found the most surprising thing in the video was how many of the patients seemed upbeat even though their chances of surviving were grim. I was also taken back by the fact every single patient in the film did end up dying. The closest death I have experienced in my family was my grandpa when I was a sophomore in high school. He had bad heart problems and it wasn't easy watching him get worse and worse. It was a tough time because that same year my other grandpa (who is still alive) was diagnosed with cancer.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I found most surprising about the video was how caring the doctors were for the patients and the families. They did not state what there own personal opinions they completely left it up to the families to think and decide on there own. I have dealt with death once before when my grandma was dying of cancer. I remember it being a very hard time for my family. Luckily I was too young to really grasp what was going on at the time.
ReplyDeletewhat I found surprising about this video is when they pulled out the breathing tube from the lady and she continued to breath. this is a very difficult video to watch but I feel like it is good to see. I have had to go through a situation like this with my grandfather and I know it is something that is hard but these are things you have to go through throughout life.
ReplyDeleteThis video was interesting for me because it displayed a perspective not often talked about on the issue: that of the doctor. Quite often the relationship considered is that of patient with friends and family, which is no surprise, but the place of the doctor involved in such a situation is a precarious one as well, which deserves consideration due to their constant exposure to what are otherwise once-in-a-lifetime moments to others.
ReplyDeleteThis was my second time watching this video, but that didn't make it any easier. The amount of pain the patients and their families are going through must be immense. The part in the video that stands out to me the most is when the two sisters can't agree on whether or not to take their mother's ventilator tube out. Situations like that can tear families apart, and I am thankful that nothing like that has occurred yet in my life, and hopefully never will. The video actually prompted me to talk with my family about death, which was still awkward and uneasy even after watching the video. Afterwards, however, I did feel a little better having discussed it with them.
ReplyDeleteThis is also my second time watching this video, but despite this fact i still feel the exact same way as i did the first time i watched the video. The pain and anguish that each of the family experiences seeing a loved one go through is by no means a happy sight. I cant stand the fact that people need respirators i feel that when the doctors put these in the patient undergoes so much pain. The death of a loved one can put any family through the ringer no matter how close they are. Despite most patients receiving the maximum amount of treatment and if it does not end up working they end up wanting to continue despite the fact nothing is working. Its a sad sight to say the least. After watching this video made me talk to my family about death. They were fairly surprised considering i never mentioned it before. I felt reassured and better after having the conversation with them.
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