Doctors saved her life. She didn’t want them to.
Doctors saved her life. She didn’t want them to.
DNYUZ; by Kate Raphael; 8/26/24
Marie Cooper led her life according to her Christian faith. ... [And, she] always said that at the end of her life, she did not want to be resuscitated. ... Last winter, doctors found cancer cells in her stomach. She’d had “do not resuscitate” and “do not intubate” orders on file for decades and had just filled out new copies, instructing medical staff to withhold measures to restart her heart if it stopped, and to never give her a breathing tube. In February, Ms. Cooper walked into the hospital for a routine stomach scope to determine the severity of the cancer. After the procedure, [Ms. Cooper's daughter] visited her mother in the recovery room and saw her in a panic. ... [The daughter] called for help and was ushered to a waiting room while the medical team called an emergency code. Ms. Cooper grew even more distressed and “uncooperative,” according to medical records. Doctors restrained her and inserted a breathing tube down her throat, violating the wishes outlined in her medical chart. Ms. Uphold, livid, confronted the doctors, who could not explain why Ms. Cooper had been intubated. ...
Editor's Note: Pair this with other posts in our newsletter today, namely "Improving post-hospital care of older cancer patients."