| Subject | Date Asked |
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| End Stage COPD/CHF/AFIB | 9/16/2009 |
Q: I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist and am currently moved in with my 82 yr old Mother who ...
A: Julie, There is no easy answer. The question you have to ask yourself is how would your mother ...
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| Responses to being taken of life support | 8/4/2009 |
Q: In may of this year we had to take our 20 yr old son off life support. He had an lack of oxygen due ...
A: Lisa, I am sorry you had that experience and I know that no parent should ever have to bury a ...
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| end stage liver cancer | 3/26/2009 |
Q: My life partner was diagnosed with liver cancer last week, 3/19/09 and the tumor has taken about 80% ...
A: Melody, It is hard to say over the internet what is causing your significant other's sleep. ...
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| Living Will | 3/19/2009 |
Q: If, based on medical opinion that a patient may fully recover, a surrogate overrides a living will ...
A: Evalyn, I cannot answer this from a legal perspective since I don't know where the events occurred, ...
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| father- copd final days? | 2/22/2009 |
Q: My father is 86, and was diagnosed with copd 6 years ago, when we were told he had 4 months to live. ...
A: Karen, I really cannot answer your question. Once your father stops eating and drinking, his time ...
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| Quick Question | 2/10/2009 |
Q: My Father of 86 has recently decidied to be a part of a "Home Hospice" program. He has been on this ...
A: Skyler, I suggest you contact your state's department of health services and/or adult protective ...
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| Dad | 1/26/2009 |
Q: My mum took my dad to the doctors in August 08 because of her concern about his confusion etc. They ...
A: Sue, I am sorry to hear about your father and wish your mother a speedy recovery. Nobody can ...
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| Friend dealing with life support issue on adult child | 8/13/2008 |
Q: I have a friend who's adult child was put on life support a few days ago. She has been estranged ...
A: Mindi, Her mother needs to speak to an attorney immediately to determine her rights. She can also ...
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| my son has kidney failure | 8/12/2008 |
Q: my son is 25 and has learning disabilitys the doctors are now saying that he is unable to make ...
A: Sandra, I strongly suggest you see a lawyer. If your son does not have decision making capacity, ...
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| DNR | 8/10/2008 |
Q: If you have a DNR order and decide to have a cardiac catheterization and possible stent, does that ...
A: Karen, I am going to answer your question from an ethics standpoint and not give legal advice. ...
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| my grandmother is sick and has 2 options related to life support | 7/22/2008 |
Q: My grandmother is 84 years old. She fell and broke her pelvic bones as well as got a urinary tract ...
A: Bethany, I cannot answer your question as no ethicist could answer it. The first thing that must ...
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| Looking after my Mother | 6/17/2008 |
Q: My Mam, who is 78 this yr has been gradually going down hill, (mentally) since 2000 when my Dad ...
A: Chris, You provided quite an expressive narrative of your mother, however, I am not exactly certain ...
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| Liver Cancer | 5/24/2008 |
Q: i'm 17 and my dad has liver cancer. It has spread to his lungs. After some research over the ...
A: Winnie, I am not an oncologist and suggest your family listen to the treating doctor regarding ...
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| Removing Life Support | 5/12/2008 |
Q: My 82-year-old mother has been in the ICU with a ventilator and feeding tube for 2 weeks. She had a ...
A: Kitty, Sorry to hear about your mother's condition. The first thing you need to do is find out if ...
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| COPD | 5/3/2008 |
Q: My husband has had copd since 2000, he has been hospitalized alot with his breathing , so far this ...
A: Sandra, I am sorry to hear about your husband. It is not possible to say without examining your ...
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| my brother on life support | 3/31/2008 |
Q: my brother has been on life support for 3 days because of phenmonia it is so severe it has gotten ...
A: Brenda, Just because your brother is on life support does not mean he is going to succumb. Life ...
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| 89 year old grandmother end stages. | 3/30/2008 |
Q: My grandmother is 89 years old. Has copd,dimensia,alz...well she is at the end no. We have hospice ...
A: Jamie, There is no way to tell when someone is going to die in the situation you described. It ...
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| grandfathers dying | 3/24/2008 |
Q: MY grandfather was given 4-6 weeks to live. We are already 4 weeks into this diagnosis. My ...
A: Jenny, I am sorry to hear about your grandfather. A prognosis such as this is meaningless as each ...
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| Decision Maker | 3/13/2008 |
Q: My dad has been on oxygen for about a year, 24/7 he was very ill and send to the hospital from the ...
A: Christiane, The "right" decision is the decision your father would make if he were capable of doing ...
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| no life support and in hospice 3wks | 2/26/2008 |
Q: My friend was in a car accident and was severely injured. His brain stem was torn. In the ...
A: Brandi, Everybody is different when it comes to this stage so time frames are not always accurate. ...
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| Kennedy skin disorder? | 2/15/2008 |
Q: My mother has been slowly wasting away from a degenerative brain disease, and the nurse recently ...
A: Cathy, It sounds like you are describing a decubitis ulcer or what is commonly known as a "bed ...
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| terminating life support for organ donation | 11/13/2007 |
Q: what problems can arise with organs of a patient that is diagnosed as brain dead and kept on life ...
A: Laura, Keeping organs alive via machinery can cause irreparable damage. Every organ is different ...
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| terminating life support for organ donation | 11/13/2007 |
Q: what problems can arise with organs of a patient that is diagnosed as brain dead and kept on life ...
A: Laura, Most of the organs need oxygen and blood to remain viable so the only way to make sure they ...
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| Lung and liver cancer | 11/6/2007 |
Q: we have just been my mum has lung cancer which has also infected her liver. My mum is 72 years old ...
A: Philip, First, let me express that I am sorry your mother has Stage IV lung cancer. This is lung ...
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| stage of prostate cancer | 11/2/2007 |
Q: My dad is 66 years old and was diagnosed with prostae cancer 3 yrs. ago. He had some tests done on ...
A: Ronetta, It is impossible to tell how much time your dad has left, however, I suggest you use this ...
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| Define Life Support measures | 10/31/2007 |
Q: Dr. Friedman, My Father in Law, aged 78, was a victim of a major stroke just over 3 years ago. Since ...
A: Rick, Normally, non-artificial feeding such as manual feeding is comfort care and is not contrary ...
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| terminating life support | 10/15/2007 |
Q: do you know of any cases where a patient was diagnosed as brain dead and then woke up or recovered? ...
A: If the patient was accurately diagnosed as brain dead, he or she would be in a persistent vegetative ...
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| terminating life support | 10/15/2007 |
Q: do you know of any cases where a patient was diagnosed as brain dead and then woke up or recovered? ...
A: Brigitte, To my knowledge, there has never been a case where a person was brain dead and recovered. ...
|
| terminating life support | 10/15/2007 |
Q: do you of any cases or the statistics for patients recovering from 'brain death'? what are the ...
A: Brigitte, To my knowledge, there has never been a case where a person was brain dead and recovered. ...
|
| life support | 9/23/2007 |
Q: i was asking you questions for my term paper and apparently asked too many follow up questions. i am ...
A: Heather, No problem at all. Laws usually don't have names and I am not licensed to practice law in ...
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| Life Support | 9/23/2007 |
Q: I am a senior in high school and i am doing a term paper on the ethics involved Life Support. I ...
A: 4. Terry's law was a specific law designed to keep Terry Schiavo alive. The legislative branch is ...
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| Life Support | 9/23/2007 |
Q: I am a senior in high school and i am doing a term paper on the ethics involved Life Support. I ...
A: Heather: 1) Doctors diagnose death by cessation of brain activity or cessation of heart activity. ...
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| Life Support | 9/19/2007 |
Q: I am a senior in high school and i am doing a term paper on the ethics involved Life Support. I ...
A: Heather, I would be more than happy to discuss this matter with you. First, you should review my ...
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| life support | 7/14/2007 |
Q: when a persons on life support , and you take them off that means every thing, feeding tube and ...
A: Charity, Taking someone off life support depends on the person's condition, the living will or DNR ...
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| dying from COPD | 6/14/2007 |
Q: I read Margot's response to someone who asked about their mother coming home from the hospital with ...
A: Clare, I am sorry to hear about your mother's condition and wish her and you my best. ...
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| storage of cadaver bones | 6/7/2007 |
Q: One of my friends died last week of a massive stroke, she was 34. She was an organ donor and helped ...
A: Kris, The simple answer to your question is that all organs are preserved in anticipation of ...
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| cadaver/organ donation | 5/19/2007 |
Q: I realize that this is only laterally related to your area of expertise, but I hope that you can ...
A: Michelle, Make your wishes part of a living will. Also, make it a part of your will. Make sure ...
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| Alzheimers | 2/4/2007 |
Q: My husband has sever alzheimers. How long can I expect he to live. He has coolness, sleeping long ...
A: NJERI, I am sorry to hear about your husband's condition and your role as his sole caregiver. ...
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| ards | 1/14/2007 |
Q: my sister went to the dr last friday they told her that she had pnemonia on top of the emphesemia ...
A: Joanna, I am sorry to hear about your sister and this situation. I cannot answer some of your ...
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| life support | 11/30/2006 |
Q: why should family members be allowed to take patient off of life support?
A: Patrick, This is an excellent question. A majority of the time, patients do not have a "living ...
|
| when to withdraw | 11/27/2006 |
Q: My mother didn't want to be kept alive if she was in a coma or just plain old, but now she's frantic ...
A: Chuck, I am sorry to hear about your mother. This is really an impossible question for any ...
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| COPD | 11/23/2006 |
Q: My mother had to be put on life support due to her COPD. It was prayers and the grace of God she ...
A: Donna, I am very sorry to hear about your mother's condition. I can answer your question best by ...
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| life support | 11/13/2006 |
Q: can you please help?
A: Absolutely. I can be reached at work on my toll free number which is (800) 883-8888. I am in ...
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| life support withdrawal | 9/9/2006 |
Q: Can a trauma patient who has been put on life support be taken off life support before a family ...
A: Judi, I am going to answer this question with the caveat that I am not giving legal advice and ...
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