Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Question re defibrillator & Warning about EMS

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

She said she would personally not feel comfortable using an AED
> on one of her neighbors, even though she is more than qualified as a nurse
> to do so. She said this was because she had spent too much time with people
> in hospitals that had been "saved" but were very unhappy (pissed off!)
> about the condition they were left in, often wishing they had been allowed
> to die.
Personal story and a warning about EMS:

My mother had an “incident" in a doctor’s office and they called EMS. Even 
though she had a DNR, EMS could not honor it. Their reasoning was that if they 
weren’t supposed to resussitate, they wouldn’t have been called. Understandable 
in one sense, but the person with DNR was not the person who called them. 

My mother complained about this for the next 30 years while spending her life 
heavily medicated in a nursing home. 

The regulations may have changed and they probably vary from state to state, 
but anyone with a DNR and those closest to them might want to check.

Sharon

——

Sharon Villines, Washington DC