January 6, 2015 Update on Deborah Taylor: Deborah had a good night (Monday) and a good day today (Tuesday). All of her levels (BP, heart rate, blood sugar) have been good. Her kidney function is continuing to improve very slowly. The nephrologist (kidney specialist) says she will not need dialysis. She had another EEG this morning. We met with the neurologist and the critical care doctors today. The EEG did not show any improvement from the previous EEGs. Again, the doctors told us that Deborah will not regain consciousness or recover from the brain damage. Basically, her present condition is her baseline, and she will continue to decline over time. She did squeeze with her right hand today but continues to be unable to follow commands or demonstrate responses to stimulation of most every kind. Her critical care doctor met with us and told us that her feeding tube (in the nose) must be changed to a PEG (feeding port/tube in the stomach) in the very near future--preferably before the ventilator is removed. He advised us that the ventilator can be removed but urged us to put in a tracheostomy to decrease the risk of her aspirating (choking on fluid, mucus, etc.) and to decrease the risk of infection. If she receives a PEG and a tracheostomy (breathing tube in the throat), she will transition to a critical care facility for a few weeks and then into a nursing home as she will require constant medical care around the clock for the remainder of her life. Our family is faced with a couple of very tough choices: continuing to sustain her with these medical interventions in a persistent vegetative state or withdraw the interventions, keep her comfortable and allow her to go peacefully into Heaven. We are overwhelmed by thoughts, choices, what ifs, advice, etc. We all think we know what we would do if we were placed in this position. However, the truth is that no one knows what they would do until they are actually faced with the decision. Please continue to pray for our family--for peace, comfort, strength, mercy, and discernment.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 01:28:55 +0000
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