Should we let them die?

Abstract

I would like to start by introducing four of my patients who are on treatment in our hospital’s peritoneal dialysis unit. Mrs A.M. is a 91-year-old lady, an ex-professor of arts at the University of Toronto, who, on the days off dialysis, lives by herself in her home and is cared for by her neighbours. Mrs M. T. is a 65-year-old blind diabetic patient with both legs amputated,who would not be accepted by any chronic care hospital; on her days off dialysis she lives with one of her five daughters. Mrs H. is a 69-year-old woman with systemic amyloidosis, bilateral hip arthritis requiring hip replacement, severe heart disease requiring a pacemaker and incapacitating back pain. Finally, Mrs. K. is a 76-year-old patient with severe heart and respiratory failure that prevents her from moving.