Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

balancedinsanity t1_j4vk1hh wrote

ICU nurse here. In my experience medical professionals generally do a pretty good job of letting family know when it's time to switch to comfort measures. The reality is most people don't want to lose their loved one without having 'tried everything'.

It's easy to try and place blame, but this could be helped through public education. People should know what the dying process looks like and be prepared for it.

Other than maybe that one guy, no one is making it out of here alive. Let's all try to make it as nice as we can.

46

EdanE33 t1_j4wgagj wrote

As someone who cared for a friend with terminal cancer (for whom any treatment was too late), I agree with education. I knew so little about what death even looked like even though I'd lost several family members. But it's harrowing in a way, and I can understand if people don't want to be educated about it, it can be hard to stomach the knowledge.

10

balancedinsanity t1_j52yvjw wrote

I completely agree that it can be traumatizing for some people. As a provider I just want the people that aren't prepared to make decisions to walk away from making them. Alas, that is almost never the case.

2