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The Process of Dying with and without Feeding and Fluids by Tube

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2021

Phyllis Schmitz
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Extract

The process of dying, ultimately, is an experience that will be common to us all. Considering the current trends in health care, I would guess that most of us give more than a passing thought to how that final phase of life will be played out on a personal level. Undoubtedly, that image is shaped by our attitudes and experiences. In addition each of us recognizes that we have had or are likely to have an impact on the dying in our role as family or friend, health care provider or interpreter of the legal or ethical issues. As a member of a hospice team, I have personally cared for hundreds of terminally ill patients, and based on these experiences, I present the following observations regarding the process of dying, with and without feeding and fluid by tube.

J.R. was a successful business executive until AIDS intervened; within an eight month period, he was forced to give up both his position and independence because of severe peripheral neuropathy which left him minimally functional and in constant pain.

Type
Article
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 19 , Issue 1-2 , Spring Summer 1991 , pp. 23 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1991

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