Chances of recovery are virtually zero and the future quality of life undesirable. Six of the children request that she be allowed to end her life peacefully. A son, a lawyer in California, insists that everything possible must be done. If not, he threatens to sue the physician. Believe me, this happens.
Physicians are most interested in saving lives.
Scenes like the above, however, have helped them to understand the pitfalls encountered when there is no clear direction expressed by a patient. Communication, patient to doctor, is essential, at a time when an individual is not physically incapacitated nor mentally incompetent. Happily, this is occurring more and more frequently. It is key to determine what the individual's desires are, or would be, if a time came when he or she could not make a decision. Resuscitation is just one item.