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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAustin Hospital Withheld Treatment from Disabled Man Who Contracted Coronavirus
His wife was not notified of his death until the next morning after his remains had already been transported to a funeral home without her permission.
Mr. Hickson became a quadriplegic in 2017 after a sudden cardiac arrest incident while driving his wife to work one morning. He had been in and out of hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and home for the last three years.
He regained his personality, had memories of past events, loved to do math calculations, and answer trivia questions, Mrs. Hickson said of her husband in an interview with The Texan.
The headline doesn't go far enough -- not only did they withhold treatment, they withheld food and water, too.
You can hear a recording of the doctor telling the wife Mr. Hickson doesn't have much of a quality of life here:
GreenPartyVoter
(72,383 posts)the governor as anyone.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)Patients are ranked by "points." Young healthy ones get more points and thus treatments. Old or ones with pre-existing conditions-forget about it.
malaise
(269,237 posts)Sounds like a Barbadian name
MrsCoffee
(5,803 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)His sister agreed that further treatment was futile.
JI7
(89,281 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)malaise
(269,237 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)LisaL
(44,974 posts)a form of life support. So doctors don't have to provide hydration/nutrition if patient can't eat or drink himself or herself.
mercuryblues
(14,552 posts)You can have a living will that states no extreme measures which includes medication. Denial of nutrition has to be specifically included, or approved by the one in charge of medical decisions.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)mercuryblues
(14,552 posts)dalton99a
(81,656 posts)https://stdavids.com/about/newsroom/statement-on-the-death-of-michael-hickson
LastDemocratInSC
(3,653 posts)Hugin
(33,222 posts)How did a quadriplegic contract the Corona virus in a care setting? It's not like he was going out to bars and partying hearty.
It was malpractice and someone should be held accountable.
Ilsa
(61,709 posts)was not shut down quickly enough. His own family or a caregiver could have infected him.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)Any of those could have become infected.
dalton99a
(81,656 posts)Statement on the Death of Michael Hickson
St. David's HealthCare
July 02, 2020
...
Mr. Hickson was very, very ill when he arrived at our hospital. He was transferred to us from another facility with pneumonia in both lungs, a urinary tract infection and sepsis. He also had COVID-19. Despite aggressive treatment and one-to-one care, Mr. Hickson went into multi-system organ failure.
He had a number of complications. As one example, near the end of his life, he was aspiratingmeaning that he was regurgitating the nutrients going into his body through his feeding tube, and they were going into his airways, causing his respiratory condition to worsen. Aspiration has the potential to be fatal, especially for a patient in a weakened physical state, like Mr. Hickson, and this was the reason his tube feedings were discontinued.
To act within the bounds of the law, my staff at the hospital communicated with Mr. Hicksons court-appointed guardian, an organization called Family Eldercare. Although it isnt common for guardianship to be taken away from a family member, a court will make that decision if they think it is in the patients best interest. In this situation, after an investigation and recommendations from the attorney appointed by the Court to evaluate what was in Mr. Hicksons best interest, the Court declined to appoint his wife as his temporary guardian. Instead, the Court appointed Family Eldercare, a respected local organization that advocates for and assists adults and individuals with disabilities in our community, as his temporary legal guardian until a full hearing could take place to appoint a permanent guardian. The Court did so after the attorney ad litem reported that Mr. Hickson had identified his sisterwho is a physicianrather than his wife as his preferred guardian. The appointment by the Court of Family Eldercare as Mr. Hicksons guardian took place prior to Mr. Hickson becoming a patient in our hospital.
Once the Court appointed Family Eldercare as Mr. Hicksons guardian, the hospital could not legally take direction from Mrs. Hickson. Therefore, we worked with Family Eldercare to develop the treatment plan that was best for Mr. Hickson and followed their directives regarding his care, as we were required to do by law.
Hospice care began, at the direction of the court-appointed guardian, when it was clinically indicated that the patient was not going to survive his illness. At that point, every effort was made to make the patient comfortable. Our team knew Michael Hickson, and we cared for him. His life was deeply valued, and we felt the loss of it.
...
chia
(2,244 posts)Maru Kitteh
(28,344 posts)Monsters can be discovered in any profession, but we are as a whole, not heartless machines looking for excuses to "off" people. We are, quite rightly, the most heavily regulated, legally encumbered professions in the world. We are unfortunately accustomed to being villainized by those who have suffered a loss because we are easy targets, especially when those who have lost and suffer so deeply don't have a good understanding of what has happened. We are not surprised when this happens, it is a predictable job hazard, but it still can be quite hurtful.
ananda
(28,890 posts).. as far as I can tell.
UpInArms
(51,285 posts)This is a heartbreaking story ..
scipan
(2,361 posts)An IV line delivering saline solution has nothing to do with a feeding tube. You can live without food much longer than water. It sounds like he could have died of dehydration.