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Brain Dead is Dead?
Sandra Gandarez
Neurobiology and Behavior
February 24, 2009
It is a moral obligation of hospitals protocol and physicians to remove a "brain-dead" individual from life support since they are already technically dead.
Before discussing the moral issues some basic information and view points are necessary to understand certain stances. Brain death is defined in several articles as the complete and irreversible loss of brain stem function. In brain death, all the brain stem functions, including those that maintain breathing, stop working. (1, 2) There is an absence of blood flow to the entire brain which in turn causes the deprivation that enables brain death. (3)
The brain is set up in a way that the unconscious actions that we take for granted (including walking, breathing and balance) are closest to the base of the brain and brain stem. More complex functions (including speech, imagination and language) are positioned closer to the outer and upper surfaces. The entire brain does not always die as a whole because the cerebral cortex (which needs a lot of oxygen and energy to function) can die in a matter of minutes if oxygen is cut off whereas the brain stem can still live. When there is still activity in the brain stem then it is brain damage rather than brain death; even if many functions are lost, such as speech and language skills. Even some "vegetables" are not considered brain dead because they can still breathe on their own and may respond to certain stimuli including pain and noise. The only thing that prolongs the life of a brain dead person is the use of life support machines and there is no chance of recovery. (1) A person can be pronounced legally dead even if the heart continues to beat due to life support measures. (2)
There must be a few critical points that mark a person as brain dead rather than severely brain damaged. Those points are:
1. There is no question of deep intoxication from drugs, poisons or other chemical agents.
2. The condition is not due to the effects of paralyzing drugs.
3. It is not the result of lowered body temperature (hypothermia).
4. There is no question of any neurological condition that could simulate brain death.
5. There are no spontaneous breathing movements.
6. The pupils are round or oval and dilated 4-6mm.
7. The pupils do not change size when a bright light is projected into them.
8. There are no reflex responses above the neck: no response to corneal contact (touching of the surface of the eye), no gag reflex when the back of the soft palate is touched, no coughing in response to tube suction of the windpipe.
9. There are no eye movements when the outer ear canal is irrigated with warm or cold water (caloric test).
10. The electroencephalogram shows no sign of electrical activity in the brain, as recorded from a minimum of 8 points. All channels must be flat. (2)
The loss of spontaneous respiration and lack of pupil dilation were the most commonly mentioned in readings as being indicators of brain death. Several physical aspects are also listed such as coexistent coma and apnea and a complete loss of volitional activity and consciousness. (4) Brain-death is often confused with the state of vegetation because it is not a necessity to be brain dead to be a "vegetable". Severely brain damaged individuals can be considered "vegetables" as well which is why the assumption is so misleading. (2)
Morality of pulling an individual off of life support is still a very controversial issue among religions and political stances. Some of the very definite terminology I found in my research was amazingly blunt, a few are:
1. If the brain is dead there is no chance that the person will recover, and therefore no reason to continue with life support. (1)
2. Thus anencephaly, in which there is no higher brain present, is generally not considered brain death, although it is certainly an irreversible condition in which it may be appropriate to withdraw life support. (2)
3. These professionals agree that the death of the brain is equivalent to the death of the person. The view that brain death signifies the death of the person is an important societal decision that should be endorsed by legislation in the individual states. (3)
4. If someone is brain dead, the person is dead, period. (5)
Most medically minded people believe that once you are declared brain dead then you are gone for good. The fact is that many families do not grasp the gone for good concept because they see their family member's chest rise and the heart beat and believe that it is still possible for them to wake up and be back to normal.
Another issue with the declaration of brain dead is that most families do not want organs harvested while there is "false hope." (5) The mentality is that why give them away when they are still needed here. The religious and moral decisions tend to clash quite violently when thinking about an individual being brain dead and having to make the decision of what to do. To top it off is the donor decision for that individual. In some countries (Portugal, Poland and Belgium) everyone is automatically a donor, taking a lot of difficult decisions out of people's hands. (2)
Something that should be considered and that has been brought into the limelight in recent years is the manner in which these people should be allowed to die. A well known case of that is Terri Schiavo, who was taken off her feeding tube which subjected her to die of starvation rather than something much quicker and less painful. Death row inmates die within minutes for their capital crimes yet an innocent woman was left to starve to death for almost two weeks. (6) Even dogs are put to sleep in an ethical manner but a human being is not. The matter of moral obligations to these people must be met to prevent this from happening regularly.
References
1. NHS 24 Health Library http://www.nhs24.com/content/default.asp?page=s5_4&articleID=60§ionID=1
2. NationMaster - Encyclopedia
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/brain-death
3. Crawford, Ronald, and Barbara Patrick. "Confirmatory Tests in the Diagnoses of Brain Death: The Role of the Radioisotope Brain Scan." Bioethics Quarterly 3(1981): 67-72.
4. eMedicine
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1177999-overview
5. Brain Dead Means Dead
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2001/04/42847
6. CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/31/schiavo/
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Comments
2nd stroke for my Dad
Hello,
My Dad had a stroke on his right side of his brain back in November 2017 and almost fully recovered and was doing great Then, out of nowhere, on Feb 28th, 2018, he suffered another stroke. This one on his left side and they couldn't get this clot out during surgery. Dad has not regained a consciousness since then. He does open his eyes on occasion, but doesn't focus on anything. He can't respond in anyway. We ask him to blink or squeeze our hands and nothing. He moves his left arm and left leg on occasion, but that's all he can really do.
It will be 3 months next week. At what point, do we let him go. And how do we do that? He isn't on any type of life support other than about 28% oxygen coming through a tube pointed towards his trachea tube. He does have a feeding tube b/c he can't eat on his own of course.
This has been just awful. We held onto hope for a long time and we tried to stay positive, but now it just seems like this is it for him. And we know he wouldn't want to live like this.
Sad
My father is on ventilator from last 30 days
My father is on ventilator from June 16th till date he had septic but, doc said he recovered from it. All the organs are working fine... but he is not responding... my father only opens his eyes and feel pain when doc Take blood samples. Some time he move his feets and hands. And ct scan is also normal... is his brain working or not.... doc does not tell anything...
Need advice please !!!
Need advice my friend is diabetic he fell and bump he's head and two days later his partner notice fluied coming out from his mouth unresponsive so we called the the paramedics when they arrived he had a faint pulse they shock his heart twice. To make the long story short got to the hospital we were told that he was brain dead and are they are giving him 72 hours if the swelling in his brain doesn't go down then the family need to make a decision to pull the plug ok so the mother didn't want him to suffer and sign the paper to pull the plug , they took all the tubes off everything what I don't understand is he is breathing on his own without the machine they say if your brain dead your dead right? They are not feeding him I'm confused any advice would be great please thank you
Well when they pulled the
Well when they pulled the plug on my friend I was Hurt because he was breathing on his own for 7 without food and water they have stop feeding him and giving him fluied it was the hardest thing to see him suffer just because of one person decison I know he could of survived but the mother signed the paper if anything was to happen to him for nobody to do anything and just to let him die my heart broke he lived with us for 10 years she didn't even talk to us on what do we think was best for him my friend wasn't even given a chance to try and fight we were force to watch him die cause we had no say so please if you have anybody in a situation they deserve to be given a chance to fight as my friend was force to did if you just saw the look in his eyes you see that he was asking for help felt so hurt we couldn't do anything the mom just wanted him to go already
They say momma is brain dead
My mom had a heart attack an was revived by the paramedics. The doctors say that she has brain dead in the last 40 percent of her brain, she had two strokes that took out the other 60 percent. She was on a breathing machine to help her breath. On a sunday we took her off the breathing machine (respirator) and they said she would be gone in hours. Well here it is Thursday and she is still breathing and passing urine. She has congestive heart failure and her heart beats very fast but she is breathing on her own and urinating but they say her kidneys are not filtering the urine for toxins. She is 87 years old and they say kidney dialysis would make her weak. My family says she would not have a good quality of life if she lived. I say that is not our call and I feel like they are starving her to death slowly and no one will do anything about it. I have no problem with my mother dying but I do have a problem with someone making a decision because they think mom doesn't want to remain in that state. If you tickle her feet she moves them, if you move her she opens her eyes. To me that is not brain dead. I am losing my mind. Please someone help me.
How is your mother now My
How is your mother now
My daughter is in hospital and they have said she is brain dead
Is she still here
So sorry
This hurts me to hear...I would never pull the feeding tube if I saw signs like these and can't see why anyone else would...I agree with you...I send my love and prayers!
My friend was in a motorcycle
My friend was in a motorcycle accident just yesterday morning at 6:30, he's only 16 there doing multiple test saying he might be brain dead but if someone moves there eyes without opening them can they still be considered brain dead ? Please please please tell me no I don't know what I can do if something happens to him
Brain dead
Dear all
My friend fallen down from bike on sunday 13th sep 2015.
Doc did her operation and said operation was sucessfull and said we need to keep her on observation for 12 Hrs.
And now doctors are saying that she is having brain dead.
Her small brain is not responding.she is on ventilator machine her eyes pupil has increase in size on both side eyes.
yesterday her brain swelling has decreased and she is giving response to touch.she feels our touch.
Please Please tell me what should i do to save my friend life is there any doctors available for such cases in an India.
Please let me know.
My brothrr brain not responding
My brothet follem down from clifs on 02 august 2015 .. Clifs hight is 80 feet .. On first day of accident he was is intensive care about 2 weeek on vantilator then he is breaking by his own thn aft few days he open his eyes but still freez but some days later his eyes is moving and moving his body .. But doctors said he is not responding anyone cammand .. Pleade tell me what is this
little brother
My little brother was struck by a car while he was walking. He had severe head trauma and swelling on the brain. They said his brain stem is bent and he is brain dead he is on a breathing machine and his heartbeat is still very strong. But if you walk into his room quietly and watch his base pulse (usually 98-99) for around 5 mins and it stays the same. Yet when you speak to him his pulse goes up to 110-115 ONLY while you are speaking to him. I don't see how that's possible plus when the nurse was changing the bandage on his foot she ran her finger up his foot and he curled his big tow. It only happened once. But his heartbeat goes up every time we speak to him and only while we are speaking... yet they still insist he is brain dead. He is unable to breath on his own and no eeg readings during that test. But they won't do the eeg while we are talking to him. Seems like everyone has given up on him but I don't want to. I can't understand why his heart rate only goes up when we are speaking if he can't hear me
trust your own instints
do not give up on your brother, i have never given up on my dad... he was left in a permanant vegetative state due to a doctors negligence,,, this has beeen proven in court... however my dad has been like this for 26 years... my father hears everything i say... im not sure if he understands what i say but his pulse rate goes up like u said....
also he really enjoys music... on his iPod... hearing is the last thing to go
i believe my dad hears me.... ill be there till the day god decides to take him from me,,, untill then i will never give up.. x
Don't you lose hope and you
Don't you lose hope and you insist on that eeg to be preformed while speaking to him. My uncle who is currently in the ICU was without oxygen to his brain for 31 minutes do to cardiac arrest. The doctors told us that we should not have hope because they have never seen anyone come back after that. Let me tell you its been days and today my uncle out of nowhere opened his eyes and squeezed are hands when told he also spoke his first word. "HI" he said to a nurse and they immediately took the breathing tube out and he is breathing on his own. All this after just a few short hours. Pray and Pray hard because miracles do happen. My Uncle has a long road and he may have to learn a lot all over again but don't take no for an answer. There is something there for your Brother to react that way to your voice. Don't give up on him!!!
brain dead
Hi my mum in law is considered brain dead too. Docs said tht her brain has no activity. Shes on oxygen to keep her breathing. Her whole body doesnt move. But once a while her eyes will open abit but we are unsure if she can see us or not. I cant believe shes considered dead too. Why can she still open her eyes abit then close again. But docs declared her brain dead
my friend has end stage kidney failure , and had a heart attack
My good friend is in the hospital. they said someone found him on the ground and they had to give him cpr. The got his heart beating and is breathing on his own but they have him on a breathing machine , medically paralyzed and he's in a coma. What are the chances that he will come back , and be the same? His kidneys are dead. I'm scared i'm gonna loose him.
son 25 yrs had brain stem stroke.still breathed on his own.
If he had the stroke in brainstem I read that functions was suppose to not work.why was his bloodpresure and breathing then mormal.after they gave him an injection then he had a full blown stroke and the blead.before injection nou bleeding just clotted up.I am full of questions.please help me
My Cousin
Hello My Cousin is in deep sleep from 1st November 2014, doctors declared him dead on 2nd November and put him on life support unit since then. the doctor said we cannot find out why is his brain is not responding on very first day. on second day they said we saw a big stone size thing in brain, next they said as per study, his brain stem is swollen too much so that his normal senses lost and he is not responding to it. and they are giving steroid to recover from swelling. and ext they said the brain is not producing enough fluid to run kidney, and we start getting symptom of kidney toward failure. they speak with a neurologist who recommend to keep giving him steroid till Friday and do CT scan of brain. he is on life support unit since then. Now they are going for electric brain scan so that if there is any signal from brain.
but his heart and all internal organs working fine.
any suggestion and any doctor or any surgeon to whom we can consult.
????
kids moves foot but regarded brain dead
My nephew is three and on life support for a week.he is regarded brain dead but has not had a ct scan as they dont want to remove him off the oscilator .he has pressure in the brain.today i went in to spray some liquid on his feet and his right foot moved everytime i sprayed it.is he brain dead as this doesnt make sense
12 percent brain activity
What are the pro's and con's of have only 12 percent of your brain active. My cousin had a MRI scan done and the results says the she only have 12 percent of her brain functional what does that mean for her she is 45 year old
brain dead people
If a person who has been declared brain dead on life support can the person who has been declared brain try to open their eyes and try to say something if they are really brain dead?
my mom
my mom was 31 weeks pregnant and felt fine, she was found at the bottom of the stairs in the middle of the night on the 24th of july, she had 2 operations on her brain and had a cacerian to save the baby, we was told my mum may not make it. on the life support machine she was warm and her heart was beating thanks to the machine, she had swollen up and had a black eye. she didn't move at all and was 38, the baby is fine. sadly they turned her life support machine off cus she failed all the tests, I just feel if they had left her on a bit longer she would of responded, when I spoke to her I started crying and water came out her eyes(they were shut)..I thought it could of been tears as it only happened when she was being spoken too. does any body know where I can get some support as I have only just turned 16, I now have to help my moms boyfriend with the new born and my 9 year old brother and 14 year old brother, also my moms boyfriend is a first time dad and doesn't have a clue how to do this, I just need advice/help/support. please get back too me
Your comment on serendip
First of all let me just say I'm so sorry for your loss even though it was almost 2 years ago & im not sure if you'll get this message , I'm 16 too I turn 17 next month yesterday I lost my second brother .. I lost my first brother the summer of 2013 . I understand your comment on serendip because before he was pronounced brain dead I got to see him his chest was moving so he was breathing I held his hand he was still warm & tears fell from his closed eyes also , I thought he could make it but they said it was no improvement so they'd have to pull the plug but I honestly think it was because he didn't have insurance. Please get back to me , thanks .
Dear Hanna, I am so very
Dear Hanna,
I am so very sorry to hear about your mom.
As a rule, doctors fight for the lives of their patients, and would not prematurely turn off life support nor do so if there is any doubt about the patient's prognosis / condition.
Please do your best to find a support group for teenagers who have lost their parents / loved ones and also seek out a trusted school counsellor to help you through this very difficult time.
You are a beautiful and also clearly a strong young lady. Your mother's presence and loving guidance will be with you always. Whenever you need, find a quiet place and remember the most important things that she has taught you, also remember her love, it is still with you.
The best way to help others is to be the best that you can be - learn, develop and use your talents / gifts as best you can. Love and be kind to yourself.
You are in my prayers.
He/She is still alive
No matter what the doctor has told you, a person must meet three criteria LEGALLY to be declared brain dead:
1. Unresponsive
- This means they do not respond to anything. No voice, no touch, heat, cold, discomfort, pain, light, NOTHING. No movement, no NOTHING.
2. Absence of Reflexes
- This means they do not have normal human reflexes. Such as blinking when something comes to the eye, yanking a hand or foot
in response to pain, etc. If your loved one is hiccuping, coughing (a reflex due to something being stuck in the chest, lungs, or throat), pulling back when pinched, blinking, etc. they have reflexes and are NOT brain dead.
3. Apnea
- This means your loved one can not breathe without a machine. To declare a person brain dead, an apnea test MUST be
performed. This means the doctor will turn off the machine. A brain dead person will not attempt to breathe. Their brain will
be unable to tell them to do so. A person in a vegetative state will attempt to breathe on their own. If your loved one
attempts to breathe when taken off the machine, he/she is NOT brain dead. If your loved one initiates his/her own breaths
when on the machine, he/she is NOT brain dead.
NO DOCTOR CAN LEGALLY WITHDRAW LIFE SUPPORT IF YOUR LOVED ONE DOES NOT MEET ALL THREE OF THESE CRITERIA nor can they force you to do so. If they try or refuse to care for your loved one, I suggest you contact an attorney and sue.
If your loved one does not meet all three of these criteria, he/she is either in a vegetative state or a coma. Both of which there is a SLIM but very possible chance of recovery, and I suggest you do your own research to determine which one they are in. If your loved one meets ALL three of these criteria, he/she is brain dead and there is NO chance of recovery whatsoever.
Brain dead but heart is working
My sister is having a brain cancer (chorio carsinoma in brain) and day by day she lost her balance , cannot walk , cannot see properly . 7 days ago suddenly she stop all the movements and still breathing well by her own. cannot talk,walk,eyes are closed but sometimes closing the eye lids bit hard,no movements in body ,we can notice a very mild movement in one hand fingers sometimes.lips are sometimes slowly moving . Her doctor said her brain is dead . but what are these slight movements. I cannot understand , is she dead , how is she breathing her own.how long will she servive like this.can she feel any pain. Please someone reply to me .What best I can do for her.
Brain Dead
Gayani,
Back in 2005 my father passed away and had been on life support for 3 days after a heart surgery that was a last attempt after his having a heart problem that was determined would cause his death 4 years prior.
After the surgery he was on the respirator, heart was beating etc, and I went to hold his hand. His eyelids were snapped shut and his hand and arm was cold to the touch. I could feel no real pulse but the machines etc said he was alive. I instantly knew he was dead even though it was decided three days later that after having to revive him several times that each time they did this was causing him more brain damage from the amount of time oxygen hadn't been getting to the brain. I was only of concern asking if it was inhumane to keep him alive or to pull the medication plug to let him die right away as we finally decided to do. I wasn't too sad about the decision, although I loved my father very much. I felt he had been dead for three days and on that third morning I even wore a black shirt to the hospital knowing that day was probably going to be his last "pretend' day of living. Before they stopped the machines, my step mom went over and told him it was okay to go. When they did stop his vitals from functioning, my step mother went over to him and said she noticed a tear had come out of one of his eyes. To this day I know he was actually still in there albeit barely. In his case, his heart wasn't going to let him live as it had met it's time, so I don't feel it was a wrong decision to let him die. Was his brain still alive? Probably slightly and for a while I thought maybe he would have had a chance to come back for a bit, but more than likely not. If he had a healthy heart or a heart transplant, it's possible and he asked to not be on life support so he answered his wishes, but say they were able to give him a functioning heart. Yes, I think he would have survived even though we will never know the condition of his brain after going through all he did.
Situation two here which is why i'm writing to you is more why I decided to write you. I had a cat named Drew Barrymore, Google "drew barrymore, cutest cat video in the world" and you'll see the youtube video I made of her. Anyway, she got sick one day and the vet took advantage of me since she was peeing on the floor and she needed to be re-hydrated. I brought her in and the vet gal said instantly when picking her up, "OH something is inside her that's hard and we should operate. (Barely even touched her, sounded like a lie). I had later discovered some of her hard food had turned quite bad and she had probably just gotten very sick. After a day in the animal hospital, we had to go on vacation and she convinced me to let them keep her and operate. (Total in all was like $3k and they had to give her a blood transfusion or something as they told me all while I was on vacation, that she was anemic and needed new blood.)
When I got back she was basically blind and would step carefully walking around until her head touched a wall. She would stand there for almost a full minute then turn and walk another way. (Nice job doc.) I took her home and had an afternoon with her on my lap where she purred and seemed to almost still be able to see me.
Anyway, here she was blind and she was a runt with a tiny body that wasn't able to handle all the trauma they had put her through. So here she was blind and I had to care for her daily for all her needs, kept her in a penned area. Her eating was that of a retarded brain, but she knew what food was. Two days later she was walking and her front feet gave out. She acted like she didn't know what was going on and was pushing her body around. The kids were laughing, but I was obviously very upset. I think maybe she had had a stroke (or another stroke). So then I had to use a syringe to give her water and her eating was that of a retarded brain and she was no longer able to see at all. I bathed her once in the bathroom sink, cleaning her paws and such. She was still in there I could tell. Then maybe another day or two later, her hearing started to go. Her ears wouldn't respond to snapping in one ear, but one kind of worked (twitched to the sound). I found her head first in her kitty box (which we had used newspaper by now to keep her clean), and she was just standing there like that. The next morning, I held her in my lap. She looked pretty much dead, just layed there barely breathing. I knew she was both deaf and blind and without either of those senses her brain was probably mostly gone. I brought her to the vet who euthanized her in front of me free of charge which was nice. I was sincerely very very sad. I still have Cameron Diaz kitty though for about 14 years now. Anyway, even though she couldn't hear or see, her attitude to not move at all told me she wanted to die. Mainly her jaw was kind of dropped open and her body was limp. I believe without these senses she lost her will or need to live.
Your sister is also probably still in there just fine to some degree and her brains energy is probably just very faint which is how she can still breath and make extremely small movements. So in answer to your question, no, she isn't dead. She is mostly dead however and her quality of life is non-existent as she doesn't have any senses to our world anymore. I'm sincerely sorry for what you are going through as it must be difficult, but it's important to know that there's nothing wrong with loving her for her entire time and that every breath of life is still a living experience for her. The world she has left is probably dreams she lives in and until she finally passes, it's important to spend as much time with her as you can since having love nearby is still felt beyond the normal five senses and it will help her to move to the next phase of the process when you tell her it's okay to go when she's ready (even if she can't hear).
Holding her hand is probably still sensed in her dream state, and I don't care how 'brain dead' a doctor my declare a person is, if they have even the smallest brain function, they are still alive and in there somewhere with a projected body. (The one you have in your dreams of yourself.) Most of her brain energy left is more than likely doing a lot in that place, so share the time with her, pray with her if that's helpful to you, and know she's still there as long as she's breathing. Again, my sincerest prayers for your situation. This may be way after she's gone as you wrote more than two months ago, but I wanted you to know what I believe to be true. The brain is a huge place and has lots of things it can do, including using senses we aren't aware of, which wake up when the others depart. Imagine with her while you can if she is still around. If not, it sounds like you were a really great sister and friend to her. She is or has returned home, where we all go eventually.
Many Blessings:
David Garfield.
my son
my 15year old son died just over one month ago from Brain Death secondary to Hypoxic Encephalopathy;cardiac arrest and asthma attack,and still today i am puzzled.We were told his brain was no longer alive as he had suffered a servere case of brain damage,due to a 20minute c p r attempt about an hour after his arrival at the Hamilton hospital here in New Zealand.During this time of meny meetings with the doctors and neuros,still i never understood the seriousness of a brain dead patient.I read the critical points that mark a person brain dead,and there is one out of all that makes me question my sons diagnosis,he was coughing while the tube was in him,does that mean he wasnt completley brain dead??? I have another question WHY DID MY SON HAVE EPILEPTIC FITS?????when he had no diagnosis of being epilipsy at all or ever,i dont understand,sorry i dont know how to spell it.
brain dead and holding his own
Dont understand that yesterday they did a electrocardiogram on my Brothers brain and said there were no straight lines at all, but yet I got a call this morning saying he was being taken off life support , due to being brain dead,,,As of now, he is still breathing on his own, I have read all of the above , and still dont understand, would you please help me understand this,,Thank you ever so much,,,It has been nearly 6 hours now, that they took him off the machine, and he is still holding his own
brother in law
My brother had an aneurysms and the doctors said his brain stem is dead. what I like to know is if his brain stem is dead, how can he answer a question with the moving of a finger and when feet are tickel his toes open up.I asked him questions and told him if he can hear me move his fingers and he did just that. im lost and dont understand how can that happen if his brain stem are dead
brain death
My brother in law is currently in the hospital they say he has no brain activity and i kno that the heart still beats when a person is brain dead but he is breathing on his own does this still mean hes brain dead??
They said my brother was brain dead, but he breathe on hs own
My Brother went to a diebetic coma, they said he was brain dead, but his heart beat and he breathed on his own.They gave him no nurishment or drips, only pain meds.He never woke up and died on the 9 day.Im making myself sick, if he was brain dead , then how did he breathe, how did his heart beat....
brain dead and still breaths
This happen to my grandson that was in a coma.The doc talked us into taking him off life support,they agreed to sign the papers.As he laid in bed I felt his stomache and he was breathing on his own.I tried to get his mom attention,but the nurse showed us the way out, telling us we did a great job of being there for him.If only I could turn back the hands of time,I would have stayed there to see if he would have awoke.We will livewith this until we died.The doctors try to rush death and are not trueful!Sorry for your lost!
death and the brain ....
Brain Death
My mother died on May 25, 2008. She had a brain anuerysm. The doctors said that her brain stem was dead and she had blood all over her brain. I am having a hard time dealing with her death. They had her on life support when she got to Parma Hospital and they ended up life-flighting her from Parma to Metro Hospital. I knew she didn't want to be on life support, so I took her off of it early that morning and she died very quickly. I would say within 30 minutes after I took her off of life support. I just feel like if I would of left her on a little longer maybe she would of lived. I just feel like i ended her life and i feel really bad.
Your mother
You should really read up on brain aneurysms.. Most people that have one die not only that but they tend to go in to a coma and if they wake from there they tend to have massive brain damage. My mother fell into the 2 to five percent. She stayed awake the whole time and felt the pain. Her aneurysm ruptured. After a day and a half it stopped bleeding and managed have surgery. to have only minor nerve damage in the hand and slight memory problems. the nost you would have got was your mother just suffering.