Baby Kaylee - heartbreaking story to be sure but are we spending too much scarce health care dollars on a terminal patient? Could the money be better spent elsewhere in the health system (maybe hire more nurses)? Do her parents doth protest too much? Not easy questions. Probably no easy answers.
Baby Kaylee
- Thread starter Rockslinger
- Start date
In general, Ontario spends much too little on preventive medecine and general welfare. The bang for the buck is
much higher in these two areas than in heroic health care.
10-20 nurses could probably visit all newborn children in the GTA let us say 4 times during
the first year, and prevent $billions of health care expenses later on.
much higher in these two areas than in heroic health care.
10-20 nurses could probably visit all newborn children in the GTA let us say 4 times during
the first year, and prevent $billions of health care expenses later on.
I think that if any person (sick or injured) has even the slightest possibility of life that all available resources should be utilized to help insure their recovery. Whether that person is `beyond hope`or not is not for us to say. The only exception I feel is if that person, being of legal age and being able to legally comprehend all pertinate circumstances chooses not to live any further with either their illness or disability.
I was in a similar postion a few years ago when my dad passed away from cancer. We as a family tried to do everything we could to help him but all we were doing was prolonging his suffering.
It`s heart breaking when anyone is put in that position and it`s easy for us as "outsiders" to say what should or shouldn't be done. But to be put in that position I wish the decisions were as easy as some may feel they are. They're not. Your heart will most of the time win out and you try to do everything you can think of to help when at the same time your mind is telling you that you're fighting a loosing battle.
MISS YOU DAD!
POST..... Agreed, in hindsight, my family may have made our decision selfishly to help my dad in his fight and prolong his suffering because of our love for him and that we didn't want to lose him. But like I mentioned, most of us placed in that position will probably decide with our hearts and not our minds initially. Whereas when making such decisions with our hearts we never see the ramifications, the consequences, that inevitably. Our minds deal with things on more of a logical level and emotions are always secondary to that process. The trick is (and there is no easy answer or way to do this) is to find a common ground in making such decisions with your mind AND your heart together. Is this easy? As mentioned the answer to that is a definite NO. I know I couldn't do it and I will regret that for the rest of my life.
I was in a similar postion a few years ago when my dad passed away from cancer. We as a family tried to do everything we could to help him but all we were doing was prolonging his suffering.
It`s heart breaking when anyone is put in that position and it`s easy for us as "outsiders" to say what should or shouldn't be done. But to be put in that position I wish the decisions were as easy as some may feel they are. They're not. Your heart will most of the time win out and you try to do everything you can think of to help when at the same time your mind is telling you that you're fighting a loosing battle.
MISS YOU DAD!
POST..... Agreed, in hindsight, my family may have made our decision selfishly to help my dad in his fight and prolong his suffering because of our love for him and that we didn't want to lose him. But like I mentioned, most of us placed in that position will probably decide with our hearts and not our minds initially. Whereas when making such decisions with our hearts we never see the ramifications, the consequences, that inevitably. Our minds deal with things on more of a logical level and emotions are always secondary to that process. The trick is (and there is no easy answer or way to do this) is to find a common ground in making such decisions with your mind AND your heart together. Is this easy? As mentioned the answer to that is a definite NO. I know I couldn't do it and I will regret that for the rest of my life.
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I'm not up to date on this story; however, I've had to make the decision twice as POA to execute the DNR for both of my parents. My father couldn't do it, so I had and eventually I had to for him as well.
When you know that your loved one is suffering and it's a matter of time, why have them endure more suffering? It's painful and unforgettable, but death is part of life and suffering is needless.
I wish this family well in their time of agony.
When you know that your loved one is suffering and it's a matter of time, why have them endure more suffering? It's painful and unforgettable, but death is part of life and suffering is needless.
I wish this family well in their time of agony.
ask that question when it happens to your daughterBaby Kaylee - heartbreaking story to be sure but are we spending too much scarce health care dollars on a terminal patient? Could the money be better spent elsewhere in the health system (maybe hire more nurses)? Do her parents doth protest too much? Not easy questions. Probably no easy answers.
Unfortunately, there does come a time when one is no longer prolonging life but prolonging death. What is really painful in hindsight is that one prolonged the suffering and pain of a love one by holding on to unrealistic hope.When you know that your loved one is suffering and it's a matter of time, why have them endure more suffering? It's painful and unforgettable, but death is part of life and suffering is needless.
1. How much is a human life worth? Health care in my opinion is a right, if we start deciding who lives and dies due to how much it costs then we are heading down a very dangerous path. They only time I would say the doctors should stop trying is when the person who is ill makes an informed decision to die with dignity. Or in this case I suppose that responsibility falls on the parents. Which leads me to the second point.Baby Kaylee - heartbreaking story to be sure but are we spending too much scarce health care dollars on a terminal patient? Could the money be better spent elsewhere in the health system (maybe hire more nurses)? Do her parents doth protest too much? Not easy questions. Probably no easy answers.
2. The parents in this case have acted disgracefully and are robbing their daughter the dignity of a peaceful death surrounded by people who love her. They seem more interested in getting in the paper by hurling accusations at the staff of the hospital. If anyone has ever dealt with the people at sick kids you'd know that they are amongst the very best in their field and don't deserve to bullied around by these two low class media whores and the clown who is representing them. My advice to them is to STFU and just enjoy every second of being with this poor little girl and let her know that she is loved.
