Suffer a stroke and left paralysed.

[The Fugitive]

One of my worst fears is to suffer a stroke and be left paralysed yet fully aware. I don’t know if it could happen that you were also unable to breath or swallow and still remain fully aware?  

 

In that scenario, if you left written instructions (thinking similar to ‘Do Not Resuscitate’) that you wished for medication, food and fluids to be withheld so that you quickly passed away, would your doctor be able to comply?

[atpeace]

21 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

One of my worst fears is to suffer a stroke and be left paralysed yet fully aware. I don’t know if it could happen that you were also unable to breath or swallow and still remain fully aware?  

 

In that scenario, if you left written instructions (thinking similar to ‘Do Not Resuscitate’) that you wished for medication, food and fluids to be withheld so that you quickly passed away, would your doctor be able to comply?

Fully aware while you suffer a slow excruciating painful death because lack of fluids wouldn't be my wish. Wish doctors were allowed to use drugs to put you out of your misery.

[Sheryl]

It would depend on many things:

 

- whether the doctor/hospital had a copy of your Advance Directive ("Living  Will") on file

- If so, whether they consulted it and considered it to be applicable to your current circumstances 

 

Note that many hospitals have their own forms for this and may nto accept it in ay other format.

 

A Health Care Proxy, appointing someone else to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to speak for yourself, is arguably more important that an Advanced Directive.  As it would fall to such a person to ensure the terms of your Advance Directive were followed. 

 

 

[The Fugitive]

17 hours ago, atpeace said:

Fully aware while you suffer a slow excruciating painful death because lack of fluids wouldn't be my wish. Wish doctors were allowed to use drugs to put you out of your misery.

Me too. I have seen it happen where a patient was terminally ill and asked to die. Palliative treatment (12 tablets reviewed and tweaked daily by a doctor) were discontinued and IV fluid drip disconnected. Death occured 10 hours later. Unfortunately, what went wrong was the hospital ward was short-staffed and no pain pump was installed. RN was attempting to pour soluble paracetamol down a patient who should have been receiving pain relief and also rendered unconscious by that point.

[3NUMBAS]

Stroke is second common cause of death on a global scale ,lot of research going on to find out why they strike to unwary victims, I am a stroke survivor ,but many end up in a wheelchair, lucky i can walk around 

[3NUMBAS]

If  u have any signs of a stroke you need to thrombolised fast, you have a few hours to do this ,but it doesn’t always work.

[The Fugitive]

3 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

Stroke is second common cause of death on a global scale ,lot of research going on to find out why they strike to unwary victims, I am a stroke survivor ,but many end up in a wheelchair, lucky i can walk around 

I wish you all the best! You sound positive which is, perhaps, the most important thing. I worked for a doctor who was head of a clinical research company. He joked that he only had to think about food to put on weight. Unfortunately, although he wasn't unduly overweight, he died of a stroke aged 57.  

[Will B Good]

5 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

If  u have any signs of a stroke you need to thrombolised fast, you have a few hours to do this ,but it doesn’t always work.

 

You need to be ultra careful here....it depends on which type of stroke you suffer!!!! But I guess it is the hospital that make that decision and not the patient.

[Will B Good]

Three nuns sat on a bench and a man exposed himself.

 

One fainted, one had a stroke....the third tried to, but couldn't reach.

[newbee2022]

18 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

One of my worst fears is to suffer a stroke and be left paralysed yet fully aware. I don’t know if it could happen that you were also unable to breath or swallow and still remain fully aware?  

 

In that scenario, if you left written instructions (thinking similar to ‘Do Not Resuscitate’) that you wished for medication, food and fluids to be withheld so that you quickly passed away, would your doctor be able to comply?

Well, you would have to write it in many languages, wouldn't you? 😂

[3NUMBAS]

A small number suffer with trapped in syndrome ,when they can’t communicate ,I have a cousin who’s wife has this ,she’s like a vegetable 

[3NUMBAS]

Predicting who’s at risk

A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. It is often caused by a blockage in a blood vessel or a burst blood vessel. Currently, we know that some people have a higher risk of stroke. For example, people from Black or South Asian backgrounds, or anyone with a family history of stroke. Heart disease and high blood pressure also raise the risk of stroke. As do lifestyle factors, such as smoking, drinking, and a lack of exercise. There’s much more to learn. “We know that genes play a role in stroke risk, but we don’t have the full picture,” says Dr Iain Turnbull, a practising NHS GP and Our Future Health’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer. “With Our Future Health’s data, researchers can conduct studies to find out which genes are linked to stroke. And they can see how these genes interact with other risk factors.”

[mudcat]

Never far from our minds as we count the years (going on eight) that a neighbor is still bedbound after a major stroke.  

 

His stroke was misdiagnosed by the local hospital as a headache and sent home with (you guessed it) paracetamol.

By the time he was transferred to the next level hospital it was too late - they could keep alive but there was no hope for improvement in his condition.  His mother (in her 70s) is full time care nurse and regrets not giving any instruction to let him die when under care.  He is aware and tries to communicate through vocalizations and nods, but what goes on in his mind is unknown other than he is unhappy.

 

We bought a hospital bed with pump to avoid bed sores, a wheelchair, and diapers for when the 30-baht allowance runs out and whatever else she/he could use to make the long road less arduous but we cannot ease the emotional burden other than being a friend.

 

I have discussed with my wife the U.S. Social Security definition of when she will need to ask to be appointed representative payee (in charge of spending my Social Security benefit for my benefit):

 

WHO NEEDS A REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE (From SSA-787 Medical Opinion of Capability.pdf)

“Some individuals … who have mental or physical impairments are not capable of managing their SSA benefits or directing others to manage them to meet their basic needs, so we select a representative payee to receive their benefits on their behalf. …. However, a person’s need for some assistance with financial tasks such as bill paying, etc. does not mean he or she cannot make decisions concerning basic needs and is incapable of managing his or her own benefits. If the individual is able to direct the management of his or her own benefits, then we will consider the individual capable.”