Cerebral Palsy + DNR order = one pissed off Strapples

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I've worked with mentally/physically challenged kids ( and adults). I've worked with the terminally ill, as well.
I do believe in DNR's where appropriate. But not when they are not appropriate.
Katie looks like a smiling, happy girl in the picture. Even I can see that. She does not appear to be suffering in the picture. She may be handicapped, but so are many people. There are many issues here.
If Katie were suffering to the point that resuscitation would only prolong pain/suffering and delay the inevitable ( a death in the near future), I'd say a DNR would be ok. And I HAVE seen kids who have been allowed to die--- but these were kids with terminal cancers/ conditions and such where it would be inhumane to prolong their suffering when death is inevitable. The same goes for adults, too.
Elderly people who "give up" and stop eating ( usually Alzheimer's disease or something similar) and those elderly/not elderly with progressive fatal disorders should also be allowed the right to die if they should wish--- they should also be made aware of the risks involved. CPR done on the ribs of a 97 year old will likely cause multiple fractures of the ribcage and will likely result in hospitalization until death anyway--- reality must be taken into consideration here.
But these are specific instances where CPR/ Resuscitation would have little/no bearing on the outcome and would only prolong pain/suffering.
Katie looks to be happy. She does not appear to be suffering. She has young bones. She does not have a progressive fatal disorder. Why the DNR?

Well, first of all I am speaking to this from personal experience. My brother had severe CP - not as bad as it gets, but pretty bad. He passed away from heat stroke and pneumonia when he was 19 (I was 17).

Despite having CP he was generally a very positive person who had a great sense of humour and tons of personality. He enjoyed writing stories and went to high school where he audited several courses. He even had a girlfriend If he were give the option of a DNR he would have refused.

On the other hand his life was not easy. He could not eat anything by mouth. He was fed through a J tube (goes in through the stomach wall into the beginning of the small intestine) at night with a machine that slowly added the liquid diet throughout the night. Because of this his stomach was always empty and he often felt as though he was starving. He could not speak at all and needed to either use a bliss board at which he would would look (his only good control was his eyes and somewhat his head) to tell us things (we'd guess where he was looking) or would type things on the computer by using a head switch and a scan (took forever to write a single word). He could not walk, he could not go to the bathroom on his own (had to use a urinal and got an enema daily to take care of other things), and would never be able to even remotely take care of himself.

My parents worked very hard to tale care of my brother. It wasn't easy to say the least. But at least he was intelligent and despite his disabilities he had good health. I don't know how they would have coped if he also was mentally deficient and had other health problems. Certainly many of the most severe cases of CP include problems beyond what my brother had and they were thankful that he wasn't as badly off as many kids they had met.

I don't know what I would do in the situation everyone has been talking about. It depends a lot on the girl's specific issues. The photo that was taken could have been taken a while ago. It could have been on one of her rare "good days" or it could be an accurate picture of what she's normally like. We don't know what complications she has related to her CP - for all we know the muscular issues may extend beyond the voluntary muscular control. We don't know if she has other issues that are not necessarily caused by CP, but are aggrivated by it.

DNRs have their place. There are definitely some situations where a child needs a DNR. On the other hand it should be a last resort when there is really no hope in the long run. NOt knowing all the details it is impossible to say if a DNR is right in this situation.

As for offering to adopt this girl - you really don't know what you are suggesting. Caring for a child with severe CP is NOT easy. This girl is in school for a variety of reasons - one is to give the parents a break, another is to give this girl as "normal" a life as possible. Keeping her home to homeschool her would be pointless. I do not in any way think that these parents are trying to get out of caring for their daughter. I am sure that they have her best interests in mind. They may be wrong, but they most likely have the right reasons in their hearts. Having CP can definitely be a painful, unpleasant life. My brother used to vomit 6-10 times a day every day due to reflux issues that even corrective surgery couldn't completely fix. He often felt as though he was startving to death, even though he was getting enough nutrients for his bodily needs. Many other people with CP get severe cramping due to their tense muscle tone. And then there is the fact that with severe CP there is no privacy in life - nothing about your bodily functions is private.

There isn't a lot of future available for a person with severe CP. Maybe as technology improves that may change, but for now it is still almost impossible for a person with severe CP to have anything close to a normal life. Certainly they can live for many years and they don't normally deteriorate, but it isn't easy either.

I voted 'no' but for infants and maybe up to 5, I think the parents need that right. They won't always use the right properly, yet they are in the position to choose. The right should not be allow in cases where it is for parental convenience as it appears in this case. Any child that can reason and provide input into quality of life issues, should be allowed to choose life.