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by Anon on April 5th, 2007

Anon

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OK, your mother is on a ventilator and the doctor tells you that along with her respiratory problems she also has gangrene and they need to amputate her foot. Do you wake her up from the sedation (which prevents her from gagging on the tube) to ask her?

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Answers. 4 helpful answers below.

  • by Anonymous on April 5th, 2007

    Anonymous

    People wake up all the time on ventilators. They can sedate her again after she decides what she wants to do. Of course, I agree with the other answer that it all depends on her age and health problems.

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  • by - retroglide - on April 5th, 2007

    - retroglide -

    As far as waking her up, you certainly should if you can. If you can't, you have to make a decision obviously.

    Without knowing the age of your mother or the long term prognosis I don't know what to tell you really. I would make sure that the operation was necessary. I would definitely get a second opinion quickly. Gangrene can be fast moving. I have to assume they have administered antibiotics round the clock for this.

    When my grandmother was in the hospital, they wanted to remove her stomach. She had cancer of the liver that had masticized. I felt that by removing the stomach, that could only lead to a quicker death. After staying up all night researching her stomach condition (watermelon stomach) I found out there was a simple alternative procedure to take care of the problem.

    I guess what I am saying is, I don't completely trust doctors. If the surgery is the ONLY alternative, then she has to have it.

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  • by Sarita1 Goes Bollywood on April 5th, 2007

    Sarita1 Goes Bollywood

    My mom would NEVER want to have her foot cut off. She is in a nursing home and everytime a procedure has to be performed its a bit to-do so imagine amputation!

    She just wants to be left alone to die in peace. She lost the one grand love of her life when my dad died, and she is just waiting to join him.

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  • by KagomeShuko on April 5th, 2007

    KagomeShuko

    I don't, because my mother has already told me how to handle such things - to have them do what they need to do to take care of her.

    However, I think you left out a part that this person is in a coma or something because being on a ventilator doesn't necessarily mean the person is asleep.

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You're reading OK, your mother is on a ventilator and the doctor tells you that along with her respiratory problems she also has gangrene and they need to amputate her foot. Do you wake her up from the sedation (which prevents her from gagging on the tube) to ask her?

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