Matters of the Heart
A young woman in her 20s comes in with an infected heart. Her only option was IV antibiotics, hope they work, and plan for hospice care. Her IV lowered the infection but the heart and valve damage were extensive. It was so extreme that the heart was producing micro-clots.
At this point, she decides to fill out a DNR or Do Not Resuscitate and move into hospice care. Our state has a loophole where if the patient becomes unresponsive their proxy can change the DNR. Sadly, the worst happened. Her mom went to court and was granted healthcare proxy rights.
The first thing her mom did was cancel the DNR. She was unresponsive and we knew it shouldn’t be prolonged. We went to court against the mother to revoke her healthcare proxy to fight for the patient’s right to die with dignity. The court refused and mom stayed in control. _AVA_