A plan for the future is important for end-of-life care
WHAT if an elderly loved one was seriously ill, on the brink of death? What if your family was split, torn between allowing the patient to pass away — or insisting on every last ditch effort, from tube feeding to CPR (cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation), to prolong life, regardless of the quality.
“Six months later when the parent dies, members of the family can turn around and say ‘What the hell were we doing? We dragged out mother’s death.’ There can be guilt forever in a situation like that,” says UCC Professor William Molloy of the Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation.
