On May 28, 2010 at @11pm in Ponchatoula, LA, my father had a minor car accident and was awake, alert and oriented at the scene, walking around. He was taken to the local hospital where they did a CT of his head, because he was on Coumadin for atrial fib (controlled). They did a CT of his back because he was complaining of back pain and found a fracture of L2. They medicated him for pain and he drifted off to sleep. The hospital had arranged a transfer to Ochsner in New Orleans where his L2 fracture could be treated.
At @2:00 am, prior to transfer, my father became decorticate and unresponsive. He was intubated. Another CT was done and it showed he had a major bleed into his brain. They airlifted him to Ochsner where he was admitted to the ICU. Repeat CTscans were done that confirmed a major brain bleed. I was called at 6am regarding my father's condition and what had transpired to that point. My step mother was with him and as I was the medical power of Attorney, the decisions for medical care were up to me.
I flew to New Orleans with my husband and met up with my brother who flew in from Phoenix. We went directly to the ICU at Ochsner and to my father's room. I went to my knees and could not breathe. I have seen many people on vents and in the ICU, but I was a daughter and not a nurse at this point. The intensivist physician explained everything and showed my husband and me the CT scans. I knew from looking at then and the huge bleed into his brain that my father would never recover and there was nothing we could do to save him.
My father was not brain dead like Jahi. However, he had suffered enough damage that he would never be awake, never move, would require the vent and other life sustaining medications. My husband explained everything to my brother and my brother agreed that Daddy would never want to "exist" like this. I told the intensivist to disconnect the endotracheal tube, the meds, everything. I told the intensivist I wanted him to have lots and lots of morphine, which would aid in any discomfort he might have felt struggling to breathe. He was given aerosolized oxygen for comfort as well. My father died 5 hours later.
Was the decision easy to take him off life support? Yes from a medical standpoint. Was it an easy decision as a daughter? Yes and No. I wanted my father to be alive. I wanted my father to still be my source of wisdom and comfort. I still wanted to talk about life in general and politics and all the things we talked about on the phone. However, the reality was that my father was gone.
I understand where Jahi's mother is in her decision to end life support. However, there are no miracles to be had. Jahi is gone and all that remains is her body. Being in the ICU where it is filled with sounds of machines, alarms etc is not peaceful. Jahi deserves peace. I pray that Jahi's mom will come to the realization that her beloved daughter is gone and any further measures to continue her life are basically futile. No doctor, lawyer or judge can bring her back to life.
It is time to let go, let God. Mourning her loss should have started 3 weeks ago. Prolonging the inevitable is just going to be that much more painful for those that care about her. Her siblings and classmates, friends and family. It is time. I pray it does not come down to the judge dictating the foreseen outcome. Jahi's mom needs to make the decision. I pray she does today. JMV, IMO, JMO. God rest her soul.
