mcarpenter526
New member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- PALS
- Country
- US
- State
- MA
- City
- peabody
My father has ALS. He is 60 and is a Polio survivor. I read these threads and see doctors getting involved, providing options, helping the families look for answers. Not with this family. He was sent from neuroligist to nueroligist. Nobody willing to diagnos; lets wait and see. If the symptoms continue to degrade it's post polio, if they dont it's ALS. Well 8 months later his wait is way down, cant walk, can barely move one arm to take a drink. Yesterday his choking escalated, and now hospice has him doped up. A few weeks ago he told me he wants to live if he can remain home. The problem is he's a fighter. Would not except it was ALS and nobody would tell him definitively. Now they tell him, and he doesn't beleive it. sooooo he except discussions about planning on death. He told me this wont kill him, julst leave his quality of life compromised.....If we had the options early we could have got him a feeding tube, set him up to make decisions on a vent, etc..... My mother wants to keep him on morphein and let him pass. With all the drugs he is on and his current condition she signed a DNR. Is it too late to fight. Should I go against hospice and have him brought to a hospital, a feeding tube put in, is there anything I can do. I feel like I am giving up on him. I feel like i din't fight hard enough. I am confident I could get my mother comming any direction I think would work.... but I don't want to make the wrong decision. I just feel like we are doping him up and starving him to death becasue he had one day of excessive choking and shortness of breath. any advice