Re: Pathway for the elderly that leads to legal execution

Ummmm.........  Maybe not anymore.  Things have changed.  Luckily, when my mom was in hospice at home back in 2005 this was not the case.  At least I don't think so.  If anybody gave me instructions as to how to withdraw fluids, I conveniently blocked it out.

Having a loved one under hospice care at home at least gives you some control.  However, when instructions are given as to their care, the unsuspecting person is apt to follow them.  Case in point:  My roommate at the hospital.  She was placed in hospice at home.  Her daughter was given instructions on how to withdraw fluids, and I guess not knowing better, she followed them.  A few days went by and she noticed her mother's skin color changing.  She was turning gray.  Her mother was dying.  She knew something was not quite right with this scenario.  She immediately called an ambulance and informed hospice that her mother would no longer be under their care.

At the hospital, I witnessed a conversation between the daughter and her mother's doctor.  She recounted this story and the doctor's very words were..........  "Yes, hospice facilitates death.  Your mother still has life in her."  I sat up on my bed behind the curtain horrified.

Since then I have heard of a similar experience in Texas.  The person was in a hospice facility and after I told my story, the daughter suddenly realized..........  "That's what they did to my dad.  They starved him to death."

This is serious folks. 

And you know........  The hardest thing I ever had to do was honor the DNR request made by my very own mother.  I held her in my arms as she crossed over to her new life. 

Luella