Meth lab in a box
I visited the RA doctor today for a regular checkup, and after the exam we had a nice BS session. We discussed the medical situation in the US and she brought up something I hadn't thought of. It basically concerned very sick people; the quality of their lives, and how much treatment they receive when their longevity outlook is bleak. Should people with a poor prognosis have a lot of tests and procedures prescribed for them? She used a patient with advanced Alzheimer's disease as an example. The person is in a mostly vegetative state and will not live more than three years at most, so if that person contracts another serious disease, should doctors order a slew of expensive tests and procedures for him? Does the patients quality of life call for that much extra expense to be placed on family members and the medical welfare system? In other than Alzheimer's cases, such as causing the brain dead to "live" by use of breathing machines, etc., should there be a mandated time limit before the plug is pulled?
As more and more people become older, these things will have to be addressed, because if they aren't the expense of treating the terminally ill will break the treasury of even a generous government and nation.
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The above photo was made in a vacant house where Carolyn did some cleaning yesterday. The house owner had to put his renters out after they were there only a couple of months. There were several of these boxes sitting around in various rooms, so I suppose a lot of people had chest problems.
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2 comments:
Tough question for many people. I have talked about this with may parents to some extent and the end result is to let them or me go in peace ultimately. No sense in spending money and being put through all the emotional stress just so that person can not pass on. Most of the time the patient does not have a clue so are they really getting anything from this?
I had to pull the plug on my mom ...
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