Thursday, May 18, 2006

PRAY FOR JOHN COSTA!

John Costa's Fight...
Sedate, Wait, and Initiate...

This is our personal and very good friend. In previous recent posts, I told what is happening to our closest friend's uncle. He is being killed in the usual way, off life support, attached to a drip tube which is steadily increasing, and helpless, too sedated to fight for his life, without a drop of nourishment, and dehydration.

Before his very recent accident, a blow to the head, he was robust, strong, healthy. Even after the accident, he was lucid, conscious. We would suppose most physicians to treat such an injury as serious but not with the radical invasive action the medical staff took. They insisted on sedating him heavily and a mishap occurred, a turn for the worse, apparently related to being sedated and being on blood thinner medication. Further mishaps included opening his trachea, resulting in infections and a high dose of antibiotics.

As we understand it, his insurance ran out. It appears the Hospital has no more use for him and has started their Exit Protocol. They use the usual now familiar platitudes and have pressured his wife into believing he is for all purposes dead. When they pulled the plug on him, however, he continued to survive and his supposedly shut down kidney started re-functioning. The "experts" consider him "brain dead" or PVS, and they moved him from decent quarters to a far more humble area where he gets minimum care. He is getting the usual Terri treatment, no liquids whatsoever, no food, no antibiotics, no help, only morphine and now Demerol in drip, steadily increasing. He has surprised family by his fight to survive, his attempts to communicate, although the doctors hastily explain any movement as reflex.

This causes a division in the family because the doctors have been successful in convincing the wife it is hopeless and to accept the fact he is dying. Other members are outraged because it is obvious to them he is being killed intentionally.

It must be his third day on the Protocol. I do not know if anything can be done to save Uncle Johnny, but this great hospital is dirtying its hands in euthanasia and needs to be put on notice. If anyone would be willing to pressure the hospital and their band of bioethicists, here is the contact info:

They are the Level 1 Trauma unit for this part of New England and associated with Brown Medical School, with a prestigious reputation.

Rhode Island Hospital
(Jane Brown Unit)
593 Eddy Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-444-4000
401-444-4521

President and CEO
Joseph Amaral, MD

Fred Macri
Executive
Vice President
and Chief
Operating Officer

Jane Metzger, RN, DNSc
Senior Vice President
and Chief Nursing
Officer

Boyd King, MD
Senior Vice President,
Medical Affairs

Louis Sperling
Vice President,
Human Resources

So far the only email is webteam@lifespan.org

Website: Rhode Island Hospital

Uncle Johnny is a Catholic and prayers would be appreciated.

8mm
ANOTHER FORCED EXIT?
Too many to keep up with!

Rest of the story...

I told the first part of the story earlier of the good friend and uncle of our very close friends. He had fallen off a ladder, bumped his head, complained about it and some time later they called an ambulance. At the hospital, they said they had to put him under sedation and soon as they started, he nearly flat-lined. Then they opened his trachea and put in a tube which infected. Gave him lots of antibiotics and advised his wife he was brain dead and they should pull the tubes.

They said the cause was blood thinners which left his vessels in brain so weak they burst.

She followed whatever they insisted to her and agreed he should be let go since his organs shut down. So a couple days ago they pulled the plug, took him off ventilator, stopped feeding and all liquid.

When family remarked he could see and tried to look around, the doc said it was reflex, that his brain was gone.

To everyone's amazement, he didn't die, but the doc will ensure he can't survive. The doc said he was PVS so could not feel pain, but explained the need for morphine drip just in case.

In this case, it was not courts or rules of the hospital. The poor wife is in shock and acquiesced and the doctor bullied her into submission. After all, doctors are so educated and knowledgeable they must know best. That is how so many of us are conditioned.

We would be unable to convince the wife otherwise. She is devastated and trying to force it from her mind and not think of it. Our good friend will die as did Terri, most likely of dehydration.
Our close friends understand what happened as do we, but are unable to change this path.

We are praying for Uncle and hope others will too.

8mm
FLORIDUH VOTER'S BRILLIANT MOTTO
on Texas' Futile Care Law:

Drug anyone and they can appear to be in PVS. Whatever happened to the premise that people get ill and while in that state, they are usually over medicated and not as responsive. Being drugged by the very people who are abusing Texas' futile Futile Care law is why they are using the PVS lie.
Did you hear the horror stories I did about people who went into H. Woodside and a week later, they were much worse, completely incoherent and the lucky ones were pulled out of there by relatives who didn't believe the "no hope" lies.

DEATH CARE SYSTEM'S MOTTO: Sedate, wait and then initiate (the bioethicking).