I was talking with my Mom the other day, and I strongly expressed my desire to be taken off life support if there is no chance of recovery and if I am brain dead. In response to this, she said: "well you wouldn't know anyway" meaning that if I am brain dead, I won't know whether or not I'm on life support, so she would keep me on it. I found this to be incredibly disrespectful and our conversation got pretty heated - the likes of which I won't be posting! :chuckle
This got me thinking about how other nurses and health care professionals viewed such a thing. I don't know about the laws regarding life support and who is able to take a pt off of it, etc, as I am just a student. So... what are your wishes if you were in a situation like that, as either the pt or as the loved one? I don't have a living will or any legal document stating what my wishes are if I am unable to make my own decisions. So if you knew that I didn't want to be kept on life support, but my Mom told you to keep me on it anyway, how would you handle such a situation? Would your religious beliefs have an effect on what advice you would give to the family? What advice would you give to a family debating on whether or not to keep their loved one alive?
(I'm OK with debate, theological or otherwise, as long as everyone remains respectful of each other and all that business. Unless a mod says otherwise, let the opinions fly!)