Need Answer to case study questions Exercises Case 1 Mrs. C, a 75-year-old woman

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Need Answer to case study questions

Exercises Case 1 Mrs. C, a 75-year-old woman with severe emphysema, was found unresponsive at home. Emergency medical service personnel performed endotracheal intubation and resusci- tated her. She was admitted to the hospital and treated for respiratory failure and pneumonia and is now quite lucid and able to communicate. However, the medical team has not been able to wean Mrs. C from the respirator. After several weeks in this condition, Mrs. C expresses a desire to have the respirator removed, knowing that action would lead to her death. Although she had not executed an advance directive nor discussed her treatment wishes with anyone else previously, she now clearly claims that she would not have wanted to be resuscitated in the first place. If the medical team respects Mrs. C's expressed desire to have the respirator removed, what should be done to ensure her dying process is as comfortable as possible? Are there any limits on doing whatever is necessary to achieve comfort for this patient? In replying to Mrs. C's request, what is the significance (if any) of the fact that the respirator is already in place? Does that fact make it more or less difficult for the medical team to remove it now, as compared with makinga decision about starting a respirator in the first place? W are the potential legal consequences if Mrs. C's expressed wishes are not honored by the medical team?

Explanation / Answer

If the medical team decides to remove respirator, they can first inject Mrs. C with a medicine that would ease out the pain that she would suffer otherwise.

Yes there are limitations. The best way to do this is only through lethal doses of medicine to terminally ill patient for preventing the pain.

The fact that respirator is in place holds significance that the person is still alive. However what factors here whether he would die eventually or has probability of recovering. If they can be recovered from disease than no one can do anything about her wish.

No the fact that they could have fulfilled her wish before does not make any sense because even now it is eminent that she cannot recover and that she suffering so she can be allowed to die but not by euthanasia, it shall be by giving her medicinal dose and then slowly put her life to death. Her death can only be assisted and not involve a direct action

Mrs. C request has to be followed as not following the request would lead to contempt of court judgment delivered in various state courts in US. That too it can only be assisted in dying process and no one can straight away take her life.

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