When and under what circumstances would it be appropriate to

When I did my will again, after my last wife passed away, I made sure that I also made a "Living Will." Yap! It says if the Packer is brain damaged or has to be put on an artificial respirator, then I do not want to be kept alive in some vegetable state. I had a pretty darn good life so I keep "packing" while I still can. No mumbling at a rest home for me, thank you. Spring is here and I'm gonna find my traveling shoes; Covid and I aren't friends and life is just too short.
 

OneEyedDiva said:
Good points Feywon. There was just an episode on 9-1-1 Lone Star where one of the EMTs resuscitated a woman found on the floor after her frantic sister called 911. The woman, a terminal cancer patient was wearing a DNR bracelet but had on long sleeves (which ostensibly covered the bracelet). She woke up soon after they started working on her and was angry and told them she had a DNR, showing the bracelet. She decided to sue the EMT, the fire department and the city for $1 each, just to make her point but also asked that the EMT be fired. The lawyer said the case might work in the EMT's favor because the long sleeves hid the bracelet and the sister never told them of the DNR. Later the EMT admitted that she did see the bracelet but didn't have the heart to let the woman die in front of her sister. At the end, the woman was going to drop the case anyway but died. The sister came to the station and gave the EMT the bracelet, at her late sister's wishes, to remind her that people who request DNRs deserve to be heard and their wishes honored. I really do believe they pull some of these story lines from real life cases

Re the OP: My living will was left with my doctor and the system here is similar to @jimintoronto described. Other doctor's and I'm sure the affiliated hospitals could access a copy in minutes.
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Yes we watched that Episode DD's last day off. And an Episode of regular 911.
 
Lara said:
Yikes @charry

And how do first responders know if the DNR was really left by you on the fridge? Just because your name is on it doesn't mean anything. Maybe the spouse or intruder who started your demise wants to get rid of you so they put it on the fridge and leave? Pretty far-fetched, I know, but stuff happens. Meanwhile, by the time you somehow verify if the DNR is legit, it's too late.

Well, that scenario is really going out on a limb. I think I've had too much coffee. Just ignore me.
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If nobody is around to verify who the patient is, first responders won't follow a DNR whether it's written on a note or they see the actual form. In fact, from what I've been told (my nephew is an EMT), they never follow a DNR. They do their best to keep the patient alive and then advise the hospital of the DNR soon as they get to the ER.
 

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Murrmurr said:
@OneEyedDiva

Emergency response personnel don't have the right to make life and death decisions under normal circumstances. They are legally obligated to treat all patients as though they are recoverable. Basically, it's a liability issue, at least here in Calif.
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I wonder if this is true in Canada, I will have to look into it more carefully.
 
I can't figure out DNRs.

I really don't understand where my moral commitments end and a DNR begins. Or if that even, is ever the case.

I just can't figure it all out.
 
DH and myself had often talked about this subject but that is all it was, we thought we had time. Before the paramedics arrived he was still talking, when I saw him next in the hospital he was on life support. Yes, the doctor does have to do his/her best to keep their patient alive, but then they turned around and asked me to make the decision to take him off life support. I knew his decision, he had to suffer that indignity , consequently I have to live with the guilt.
I still have not made mine but I will. I found out the other day that where I live those who take advantage of MAID is the highest in the world though I am unaware of the criteria.
 

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