Marynell and her Mother
There are decisions we all must eventually make in our lives. Nobody has the right to judge these life-defining decisions. Once made, we must live with the consequences. Sometimes we make the decisions based on fear and our past losses. Other times we face the choices head on with a courage and conviction that we never knew we had.
A week ago, Marynell almost lost Miss Sara, her precious mother. As a nurse, I work with this specific condition, and I perhaps knew better than Marynell how close her mother truly came to death. Nevertheless Marynell, being a Family Nurse Practioner, instantly grasped the severity and the gravity of the situation.
A decision had to be made and quickly. Intervene and accept the associated risks of intervention, which are also grave in the elderly and frail, or place the situation in the hands of God and accept His will. There are those who will say that God gives us nurses and physicians to intervene on His behalf, and there is merit to that. I believe it myself. However, I have also lost people while struggling desperately to save them. Marynell and I spoke at length about the condition, and the risks. Ultimately though, no nurse, no physician, nor any fortuneteller can make the decision for the family. The family must bear the burden of the decision, and health care providers become the instruments of those decisions.
Miss Sara herself made the decision, and Marynell reinforced and solidified it. There would be no intervention. I was frightened at first and talked to Marynell again with trepidation. However, Marynell's resolve was absolute. And this was the decision that was best for them. Marynell began making funeral arrangements. And she asked for prayers.
Over the next few days, Miss Sara had an inexplicable turn around. Not only did she perk up, but she became more lucid than prior to the event. Again, I was frightened. We often see this right before death. But it stuck. A week later Miss Sara continued to improve and stabilize.
These images were taken approximately a week after the original event that jolted us all into a new and intense awareness of the fragility of life around us. Sometimes the right decisions are not the ones everyone agrees on. The right decisions may not be the ones health care professionals advise. Health care professionals have an obligation to lay out the options. It is up to the family to decide which option to take. The right decisions are always the ones you can live with, and the ones that that support life, dignity, faith and your own personal philosophy of the same.
Miss Sara and Marynell were given a second chance to affirm their love and devotion to each other. We usually don't get second chances like this. Go tell those you love how much they mean to you and do it now. Tomorrow may be too late. And talk about these issues so when your time comes you can make the right decision that you can live with.
Ain't the Way to Die ~ ZDoggMD
Marynell and her Mother
There are decisions we all must eventually make in our lives. Nobody has the right to judge these life-defining decisions. Once made, we must live with the consequences. Sometimes we make the decisions based on fear and our past losses. Other times we face the choices head on with a courage and conviction that we never knew we had.
A week ago, Marynell almost lost Miss Sara, her precious mother. As a nurse, I work with this specific condition, and I perhaps knew better than Marynell how close her mother truly came to death. Nevertheless Marynell, being a Family Nurse Practioner, instantly grasped the severity and the gravity of the situation.
A decision had to be made and quickly. Intervene and accept the associated risks of intervention, which are also grave in the elderly and frail, or place the situation in the hands of God and accept His will. There are those who will say that God gives us nurses and physicians to intervene on His behalf, and there is merit to that. I believe it myself. However, I have also lost people while struggling desperately to save them. Marynell and I spoke at length about the condition, and the risks. Ultimately though, no nurse, no physician, nor any fortuneteller can make the decision for the family. The family must bear the burden of the decision, and health care providers become the instruments of those decisions.
Miss Sara herself made the decision, and Marynell reinforced and solidified it. There would be no intervention. I was frightened at first and talked to Marynell again with trepidation. However, Marynell's resolve was absolute. And this was the decision that was best for them. Marynell began making funeral arrangements. And she asked for prayers.
Over the next few days, Miss Sara had an inexplicable turn around. Not only did she perk up, but she became more lucid than prior to the event. Again, I was frightened. We often see this right before death. But it stuck. A week later Miss Sara continued to improve and stabilize.
These images were taken approximately a week after the original event that jolted us all into a new and intense awareness of the fragility of life around us. Sometimes the right decisions are not the ones everyone agrees on. The right decisions may not be the ones health care professionals advise. Health care professionals have an obligation to lay out the options. It is up to the family to decide which option to take. The right decisions are always the ones you can live with, and the ones that that support life, dignity, faith and your own personal philosophy of the same.
Miss Sara and Marynell were given a second chance to affirm their love and devotion to each other. We usually don't get second chances like this. Go tell those you love how much they mean to you and do it now. Tomorrow may be too late. And talk about these issues so when your time comes you can make the right decision that you can live with.
Ain't the Way to Die ~ ZDoggMD