Condemned to Die: Ask me how. Tell me why.

Senator Sheryl Nuxoll of Idaho State Senate has sponsored a bill that would require physicians and nurses to give a patient treatment at the family's request even if the patient is dying. I called her office and left a message for her. Her bill is important but it is only the tip of the ice berg.

From my observation, many of the staff members in hospitals do not have the qualifications to determine if the patient is near death. They "assume". When Brenna was first diagnosed with an anoxic brain injury, there were no peer reviewed published studies on brain injury rehabilitation and hadn't been for 25 years. That doesn't come from just my observations. Blue Cross of Idaho, when I stumbled onto their site for criteria for brain injury rehabilitation, couldn't find any studies in 25 years either. The lack of current studies seriously affects the treatment patients with an anoxic brain injury receives.

From my observation about Brenna's treatment when she had her initial brain injury, the first hospital did not have the advanced equipment needed to protect her brain from further damage and that would restore her cognitive levels. I didn't know something more COULD be done until I found an online brain injury support group much later. I didn't know the right equipment existed to help Brenna more.

But, that hospital had to have known. Shame on them! Four miles away, in the other hospital, the equipment existed and NO ONE informed me. NO ONE. All they did was target my daughter for death and, I believe, for the organ donor market.

I spent hours being haunted by Dr. Ghoul as he pressured me to let my daughter go. LET HER GO???  She had 50% of her brain left and the 2nd neurologist told me it was far to early to determine how much was damage and what was swelling. The 1st neurologist assured me repeatedly that Brenna WAS NOT BRAIN DEAD and that her EEG was "pretty good". I honestly believe that what Dr. Ghoul promoted was outright murder.

Did I listen to him? NEVER one moment. I had no clue who he was. He just appeared and started the pressure. He popped up at odd moments, just like a ghoul. I began to notice him circling the CCU on rounds with other doctors. He reminded me of a vulture, looking for prey. My daughter was not his prey.

Get this. He comes uninvited and charges Medicare $455 for his unwanted services. It is like the town tramp showing up at your house, ordering pizza with all the trimmings, and charging you for the meal.

We can shave off at least some of the money paid out by Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies by dispensing with these uninvited services. If hospitals want to encourage death by starvation, let them pay for the "services" out of some other fund, perhaps out of executive staff bonuses.