It doesn't seem to make a sifference; no matter how I try I never get catchup to the times I have to do. I do not even have time to blog. Everyday a new prioritory presents itself.
This past week Randy was being difficult and I did not know why. Finally, yesterday he pointed to an application which I picked up from the bank when we were doing the banking. After much pointing last week and yesterday I finally gave him a letter board and he slowly spelled out C+R+E. I knew then he wanted me to fill out the credit card application. I asked him why would he want a credit card. No answer. I then asked him if he wanted a credit card in case of an emergency. He nodded his head YES. We mailed the credit card application and he was happy. He amazes me at times with his memory and determination.
Since January 2013 Randy has been on strike against the RTs at GPC. He won't let them treat him. Why, because he sees them as being the cause of him not having a passey-muir valve which would enable him to talk. I was never told that he can't talk if it was attached to his trach, but rather that it was too dangerous...
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Terri Schindler Schiavo and Us
Need I say more about the dangers of advanced directives/DNRs ...see below letter dated May 10, 2013 This letter does not mention that from the time a patient knows of a DNR in Texas it is only a few day I think I read ten days to find another hospital to transfer to. Good luck finding one on short notice.
You might want to refer to the recent Kenny Ng 2013 BC Supreme Court decision which allowed his surrogate to starve Kenny to death and it was supported by evidence given that it was a medically appropriate decision.
We live in a climate that many of us do not even have a family doctor who could (maybe) advocate for us. Just strangers who are under intense pressure to contain unproven cost savings and promote the mantra that quality of life is more important than life itself. I was horrified when in January 2013 I was told by a young doctor that medicine was about quality of life. If newly educated doctors are taught this and they continue to believe it, we are lost.
Recently I spoke to a health professional who really did not understand advance directives but who told me that if he didn't honour a DNR that he could be sued. What ignorance. What stupidity. You can't sue hospitals or hospital medical teams. As a further comment: do you think any court will $award anything for saving a life. Impossible.
All health is pro-life; otherwise, it is not healthcare. (Ron Panzer)
Dear Texas House Members,
My sister, Terri Schindler Schiavo, and the horrendous acts that took her life represent the tragic logic of the slippery slope of futile care policies, similar to the one enshrined in current Texas Advance Directives Law (Chapter 166.046 of the Health & Safety Code).
On March 31, 2005, Terri finally succumbed to dehydration and starvation because her estranged spouse and those entrusted to protect and care for her rejected her value as a disabled human.
Since Terri’s intentional death by dehydration, my family and I have established a foundation, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, through which we advocate for patients and families who fall victim to the same quality of life judgments to which our beloved Terri was subjected.
The hospitals and personnel and locations may be different than Terri’s, but the story is often the same: An unelected body of hospital or facility caregivers, strangers to the patient and deciding in secret, impose their own value judgments about a patient’s life and illness and then determine that continued wanted medical care should be withheld or denied. See the recent 2013 BC judgment of Kenny Ng wherein it was stated that it was a medically appropriate decision to starve Kenny to death.Search Vancouver Sun KENNY NG.
"Futilitarian ethics" seems to be growing in hospitals and care centers across America, and the powerful medical lobby has become more aggressive in codifying policies that jeopardize the lives of the disabled and dying.
Current Texas law is one such threat, and our foundation has been involved in helping a number of patients navigate through the futility review process and transfer to another facility. The alternative is a process of imposed death in which all power is in the hands of the treating facility.
Recently, I was made aware that proponents of a dangerous bill, Senate Bill 303, are using Terri’s photo to manipulate the truth about the bill and to confuse messaging about the dangers of SB 303.
I eagerly signed a joint letter opposing SB 303 that remains our firm opinion today. I have studied the legislation, and remain vehemently opposed to that bill. While recognizing that TADA needs reform, but I consider SB 303 to be worse than current law by expanding the power of hospital ethics committees over the lives and deaths of its patients by specifically authorizing imposition of DNR orders without consent of the patient or family, and requiring them to file a written appeal, this at a time of family crisis.
No one in my family authorized the usage of Terri’s photo or name in conjunction with SB 303. In fact, we urge you as legislators and protectors of the most vulnerable to oppose SB 303. In addition to further embedding the futilitarian mindset, SB 303 does nothing to restore any due process rights for patients. The hospital ethics committee is stacked with its own personnel and associates, yet they, with a clear conflict of interest, have the final say over a patient’s life and death with no outside checks and balances.
If you allow Senate Bill 303 to become law, the acts that led to the death of my sister will only increase in Texas. The decision to end my sister’s life unnaturally was based on quality of life judgments vs. clinical medical judgments. The calls to our foundation from Texas families feature the same conflict: value judgment on the patient has supplanted objective medical evaluations.
My sister lived for 13 days after the third court-ordered removal of her feeding tube. Texas SB 303 would sanction removal of artificial hydration and nutrition based on the following criteria—all of which were used to end Terri’s life. Under Section 7, Section 166.046(e), artificially administered food and water does not have to be given when the treatment—according to the hospital panel—would:
(1) hasten the patient's death;
(2) seriously exacerbate other major medical problems not outweighed by the benefit of the provision of the
treatment;
(3) result in substantial irremediable physical pain or discomfort not outweighed by the benefit of the provision
of the treatment; or
(4) be medically ineffective in prolonging the patient's life.
These criteria are broad and leave too much room for interpretation. “[N]ot outweighed by the benefit,” “substantial… pain or discomfort,” and “seriously exacerbate” are quality of life, subjective decisions imposed by the facility and physicians, not medical or clinical assessments.
Do not let what happened to Terri happen to patients in Texas. I urge you, State Legislators, to protect the most vulnerable, the disabled, and the dying from hastened death by rejecting SB 303 and the House version, HB 1444.
Respectfully,
![]()
![]()
Bobby Schindler
Executive Director
Terri’s Life & Hope Network
You might want to refer to the recent Kenny Ng 2013 BC Supreme Court decision which allowed his surrogate to starve Kenny to death and it was supported by evidence given that it was a medically appropriate decision.
We live in a climate that many of us do not even have a family doctor who could (maybe) advocate for us. Just strangers who are under intense pressure to contain unproven cost savings and promote the mantra that quality of life is more important than life itself. I was horrified when in January 2013 I was told by a young doctor that medicine was about quality of life. If newly educated doctors are taught this and they continue to believe it, we are lost.
Recently I spoke to a health professional who really did not understand advance directives but who told me that if he didn't honour a DNR that he could be sued. What ignorance. What stupidity. You can't sue hospitals or hospital medical teams. As a further comment: do you think any court will $award anything for saving a life. Impossible.
All health is pro-life; otherwise, it is not healthcare. (Ron Panzer)
Dear Texas House Members,
My sister, Terri Schindler Schiavo, and the horrendous acts that took her life represent the tragic logic of the slippery slope of futile care policies, similar to the one enshrined in current Texas Advance Directives Law (Chapter 166.046 of the Health & Safety Code).
On March 31, 2005, Terri finally succumbed to dehydration and starvation because her estranged spouse and those entrusted to protect and care for her rejected her value as a disabled human.
Since Terri’s intentional death by dehydration, my family and I have established a foundation, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, through which we advocate for patients and families who fall victim to the same quality of life judgments to which our beloved Terri was subjected.
The hospitals and personnel and locations may be different than Terri’s, but the story is often the same: An unelected body of hospital or facility caregivers, strangers to the patient and deciding in secret, impose their own value judgments about a patient’s life and illness and then determine that continued wanted medical care should be withheld or denied. See the recent 2013 BC judgment of Kenny Ng wherein it was stated that it was a medically appropriate decision to starve Kenny to death.Search Vancouver Sun KENNY NG.
"Futilitarian ethics" seems to be growing in hospitals and care centers across America, and the powerful medical lobby has become more aggressive in codifying policies that jeopardize the lives of the disabled and dying.
Current Texas law is one such threat, and our foundation has been involved in helping a number of patients navigate through the futility review process and transfer to another facility. The alternative is a process of imposed death in which all power is in the hands of the treating facility.
Recently, I was made aware that proponents of a dangerous bill, Senate Bill 303, are using Terri’s photo to manipulate the truth about the bill and to confuse messaging about the dangers of SB 303.
I eagerly signed a joint letter opposing SB 303 that remains our firm opinion today. I have studied the legislation, and remain vehemently opposed to that bill. While recognizing that TADA needs reform, but I consider SB 303 to be worse than current law by expanding the power of hospital ethics committees over the lives and deaths of its patients by specifically authorizing imposition of DNR orders without consent of the patient or family, and requiring them to file a written appeal, this at a time of family crisis.
No one in my family authorized the usage of Terri’s photo or name in conjunction with SB 303. In fact, we urge you as legislators and protectors of the most vulnerable to oppose SB 303. In addition to further embedding the futilitarian mindset, SB 303 does nothing to restore any due process rights for patients. The hospital ethics committee is stacked with its own personnel and associates, yet they, with a clear conflict of interest, have the final say over a patient’s life and death with no outside checks and balances.
If you allow Senate Bill 303 to become law, the acts that led to the death of my sister will only increase in Texas. The decision to end my sister’s life unnaturally was based on quality of life judgments vs. clinical medical judgments. The calls to our foundation from Texas families feature the same conflict: value judgment on the patient has supplanted objective medical evaluations.
My sister lived for 13 days after the third court-ordered removal of her feeding tube. Texas SB 303 would sanction removal of artificial hydration and nutrition based on the following criteria—all of which were used to end Terri’s life. Under Section 7, Section 166.046(e), artificially administered food and water does not have to be given when the treatment—according to the hospital panel—would:
(1) hasten the patient's death;
(2) seriously exacerbate other major medical problems not outweighed by the benefit of the provision of the
treatment;
(3) result in substantial irremediable physical pain or discomfort not outweighed by the benefit of the provision
of the treatment; or
(4) be medically ineffective in prolonging the patient's life.
These criteria are broad and leave too much room for interpretation. “[N]ot outweighed by the benefit,” “substantial… pain or discomfort,” and “seriously exacerbate” are quality of life, subjective decisions imposed by the facility and physicians, not medical or clinical assessments.
Do not let what happened to Terri happen to patients in Texas. I urge you, State Legislators, to protect the most vulnerable, the disabled, and the dying from hastened death by rejecting SB 303 and the House version, HB 1444.
Respectfully,
Bobby Schindler
Executive Director
Terri’s Life & Hope Network
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Mystery Solved
The mystery is solved. A nurse telephoned me and said that that is what nurses on shift do. She would do it whenever she had to write a letter ... before there were smart phones. Now the puzzle of my banning is starting to make sense. Staff doesn't want anyone around especially someone like me who visited Randy every day.
So that is what Whilley has on the staff at GPC: I won't say what staff is really doing as long as no one objects to me sleeping at GPC on my own comfortable lounger (drapped in sheepskin). He was doing this for six years. I think this is a blatant example of corruption in full sight.
The banning of myself from GPC has had a devastating effect on me. It was orchestrated by the staff on Ward 2 and Whilley. I still remember Whilley telling me that a petition was being signed to get me banned from GPC. I was terrified. I will never forget the injustice of it all. Whilley is still there as well as the staff when I got banned. No one spoke to defend me. Even now no one speaks for me.
Now I have become a monster:. a true advocate for the disabled, the elderly, the ailing and for those that have been blind sighted to agree to any form of advanced directive. A proponent for the sanctity of life. ..
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Helpless
I went to see Randy during a group keep fit activity today at GPC. Comparing his level of participation with other residents of the group, I felt so helpless realizing just how handicapped Randy really is. He tried so hard to participate but could barely do so. It was painful to watch him.
I still haven't heard from the Ethics Committee as to why we were subjected to repeated DNR requests.
I still haven't heard from the Ethics Committee as to why we were subjected to repeated DNR requests.
What are they doing behind the curtains
When I return Randy back to GPC, I leave him in the hands of the nurses as they ready him to bed. After watching vimeo.com/64462798 an interview with the daughter of a man who died of bedsores at Burnaby General, a thought raced back to me. What are they hiding? On Saturday I returned Randy and since he did not want to return to GPC I promised that I would wait until after he was put to bed and then stay with him until the visiting hours were over. When returned I was told by his nurse to leave his bedside and I had to wait one hour before he was safe in his bed. Why should this have taken one hour; when it should have only taken 10 minutes; 15 minutes top. What are they doing. Hiding something I should see or alternatively texting on their smart phones I have seen this man naked before, so why am I ushered out of his "home" by the nurses...Randy can't even talk to tell me what is going on....of the ten residents on Randy's "open" Ward, only one can talk ...
.
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Friday, May 3, 2013
When did it Change
In the 1960, the 1970s and the 1980s society (medical industry) was doing everything to extend life and they did. The sanctity of life was in tack. And it was not until the early 1990s that it was decided that the unproven financial cost to allow everyone to live longer was too high. In the 1990s it started to change to "quality of life" and the willingness of patients to end their lives sooner than they needed to.by being convinced/coerced that it was in a patients best interest and he alone made this decision. The method they used to triage patients was advance directives/levels of care... Who needs patients who are a burden on society and their families and difficult to treat and will never be productive members of society. They are not only going after the elderly but others as well like those who were injured through extreme sports or have a long-term disease.They are targetting each one of us. It is easy to postpone treatment for heart attack, stroke, pneumonia or cancer until a patient/resident has a sudden death. This is called a slow DNR.
I remember reading recently of an economist from back East saying that our medical system is sustainable and it is not necessary not to treat the elderly....... The elderly are paying taxes on their pensions/income/assets/purchases and are a source of revenue for the economy. When I went back to cite this article I could not find it but it made sense to me at that time. So maybe all this about cost savings is not cost saving but rather to dispose of those of us who are not perfect and not in good health. And you might ask where do your assets go upon your death...
All forms of advanced directives have to be banned. This to ensure that everyone has security of person i.e. life..
I remember reading recently of an economist from back East saying that our medical system is sustainable and it is not necessary not to treat the elderly....... The elderly are paying taxes on their pensions/income/assets/purchases and are a source of revenue for the economy. When I went back to cite this article I could not find it but it made sense to me at that time. So maybe all this about cost savings is not cost saving but rather to dispose of those of us who are not perfect and not in good health. And you might ask where do your assets go upon your death...
All forms of advanced directives have to be banned. This to ensure that everyone has security of person i.e. life..
Friday, April 19, 2013
How to Solve the Health Care Problem
Decades ago I was told that to make money in the long-term you have to spend money. And this is what the Province should be doing respecting health care. No harm will result. More jobs will be created thus more revenue will recirculate into the economy. And among the compounding effects will be that we will all have security of person. We will not have to worry about whether or not we are receiving optimal care because of budget restraints. Start medical training in Grade 10 so that upon graduation everyone is a LPN and those credits can be applied to a RN degree. Look upon health care as a natural renewable resource and it will attract investment from around the world in the spinoff industries.
I did a terrible thing yesterday. A man I assume was from India offered to share his over sized umbrella with me and Randy and I told him that it wasn't necessary. I said that rain was good for the earth and also us humans. I should have allowed the comfort of his umbrella and chat with him as we walked the two blocks in the pouring rain to the entrance of George Pearson Centre. If I see him again, this tall elderly man from India, I will run after him and apologize. An offer of kindness has to be appreciated. (Randy was covered in a rain cape especially designed for wheelchairs)
I still haven't heard anything from the VCH's Ethics Committee on why Randy was bombarded with DNRs these past six months. This discussion happened many times and each time we voted for full code and VCH seemed intent on voting for a DNR. Caution: if you do not have 110% confidence in the medical/legal system never agree to a DNR. Do not believe the quality of life issues VCH will argue. Life is worth it no matter what. Too many mistakes can be made with DNRs, Advance Directives, Living Wills, etc. Research it on the web. Ask yourself why the push for DNRs...start with www.texasrighttolife.com...end of life care.
123,260
I did a terrible thing yesterday. A man I assume was from India offered to share his over sized umbrella with me and Randy and I told him that it wasn't necessary. I said that rain was good for the earth and also us humans. I should have allowed the comfort of his umbrella and chat with him as we walked the two blocks in the pouring rain to the entrance of George Pearson Centre. If I see him again, this tall elderly man from India, I will run after him and apologize. An offer of kindness has to be appreciated. (Randy was covered in a rain cape especially designed for wheelchairs)
I still haven't heard anything from the VCH's Ethics Committee on why Randy was bombarded with DNRs these past six months. This discussion happened many times and each time we voted for full code and VCH seemed intent on voting for a DNR. Caution: if you do not have 110% confidence in the medical/legal system never agree to a DNR. Do not believe the quality of life issues VCH will argue. Life is worth it no matter what. Too many mistakes can be made with DNRs, Advance Directives, Living Wills, etc. Research it on the web. Ask yourself why the push for DNRs...start with www.texasrighttolife.com...end of life care.
123,260
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Nothing Changes
I went for a short walk to GPC at 11:00 am. I wanted to know Randy's status as he wasn't looking well. He was lethargic, unhappy and needed a suction. Since no one was available after about twenty minutes I used the call bell. Ten minutes later a staff member arrived and said to me that he doesn't have to talk to me as I am not a patient...
1. Because of Randy's injury, he cannot talk;
2. Randy isn't looking well as he has an infection and needs someone to be his voice and expects me to look after him..
123,050
1. Because of Randy's injury, he cannot talk;
2. Randy isn't looking well as he has an infection and needs someone to be his voice and expects me to look after him..
123,050
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Aftermath of Hospital Report Card 2013
Referring to the B.C.Minister of Health's comment that 90% of the people are happy with the excellent care provided by VCH on CKNW on Thursday (Bill Good's show), .what about the other 100,000 people, (the ten percent) who do not share her view. We are talking 100,000 people in the Vancouver area alone..
122.986
122.986
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
VGH's Report Card (CBC's Fifth Estate)
VGH has been assigned a D; I suspect GPC must be a F.
This indicator measures the number of patients per 1,000 who develop problems tied to nursing care such as urinary tract infections, bed sores, pneumonia or broken bones. Nurses are not solely responsible but studies show a strong link to low nurse staffing levels. see cbc.ca/health
At GPC I have never heard or even seen any nursing staff being "burned out" from being overworked. And no patient/resident at GPC will ever attest to that.
So Randy has been getting poor nursing care as I have suspected:of his urinary tract infections, bed sores, pneumonia, broken bones, psychological neglect....
see cbc.ca/health
122,888
This indicator measures the number of patients per 1,000 who develop problems tied to nursing care such as urinary tract infections, bed sores, pneumonia or broken bones. Nurses are not solely responsible but studies show a strong link to low nurse staffing levels. see cbc.ca/health
At GPC I have never heard or even seen any nursing staff being "burned out" from being overworked. And no patient/resident at GPC will ever attest to that.
So Randy has been getting poor nursing care as I have suspected:of his urinary tract infections, bed sores, pneumonia, broken bones, psychological neglect....
see cbc.ca/health
122,888
Sunday, April 7, 2013
An advocate
This past week a medical professional complimented me on being such a good advocate for Randy. I have heard that before. My response to her was why does Randy need an advocate. If the medical establishment was doing its job advocacy would not be necessary. The medical profession has convinced the government that it is policing itself so the government does nothing. I still haven't got a reply from the Ethics Committee as to if it will look into the events surrounding Randy's DNRs. When did quality of life rather than life itself become the medically accepted norm ...
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Carter Appeal
Listening to the Carter Appeal last week the bell rang what about reverse discrimination. Why is it that two or three people who are so handicapped that they can't commit suicide by themselves should be granted a "good and safe" death under the supervision of the medical system while the rest of us who are suffering have to opt for a painful death by dehydration (refusal of food and water i.e.refusing medical treatment) or a violent end with a gun.
122,163
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122,163
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Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Nothing has Changed
The other day at the Oakridge bus stop I mentioned to one of the RN in Randy's Ward who was waiting for the bus that Randy is going to be angry at me as I am very late. She didn't say anything but I noticed her inching away from me to being fifteen feet away. It didn't connect. At 57th after exiting from the bus with this RN who was walking more than a few feet behind me on the public sidewalk to the entrance of GPC and at the 7th tree I tumbled from the sidewalk head first and fell. : the sidewalk was sixty years old, it was uneven and I was wearing sloppy shoes. As I laid on the grass next to the sidewalk not knowing if I was injured or not the RN from the Oakridge bus stop walked pass me without even inquiring if I was okay. I could not believe it. A RN, a nurse, someone who I see whenever she is on shift, Randy's sometimes charge nurse, and she just walked by. If she can't greet or help an old lady in distress I wonder what she is doing to the residents at GPC. I know there are some good people at GPC but I would like to know who they are. During the 2.5 years I have been going to GPC no one has shown me any real kindness...I wonder how many patients/residents at GPC are likewise treated by this nurse in the same manner. But then no one would see her behavior since patients are in private rooms or hidden behind mostly closed curtains in open wards which wards are designed so that staff can see all the patients from a glance but when the curtains are closed then no one can see no evil, heard no evil, speak no evil.. Relying on S02 meters should not the accepted method to use when a patient needs suctioning. The SO2 is a default and subject to equipment failure and in Randy's case he rarely has his SO2 meter on during the day or his humidifier on during the day putting him at risk.. Using the humidifier keeps his secretions thin so they do not plug up preventing him from breathing. .Randy can't talk so he can't even call for help as his call bell is hung up behind his headboard out oh his reach, so he could not even reach it if he had to. All hospital wards should be videoed and audioed so every movement and conversation can be heard. In Jails every thing is videoed so why not hospitals. When you go to a retail store you are under surveillance.There are cameras on transit vehicles. Residents are not asked if they want to be under surveillance or not (patients do not even have this protection) it is up to the hospital. You would think that Risk Management would be insisting on such measures to protect the integrity of health care.
121,884
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121,884
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