To Be or Not To Be Intubated is an Important Question To Ask Ourselves Prior To Need
While it may seem automatic to want assistance with breathing should one need it, there are risks with this particular type of assistance that is causing some to change their documents to specifically prohibit intubation. So what is intubation? This article gives some insight into the high-stakes risks and harms that are possible from this treatment.Fearful of Covid-19, Older People are Changing Their Living Wills
by Judith Graham
published May 9, 2020
in The Washington Post
Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.“No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.Buck, 91, had been following the news about covid-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.“I don’t want to put everybody through the anguish,” said Buck, who lives in a continuing care retirement community in Denver.For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators are a fraught symbol, representing a terrifying lack of personal control as well as the fearsome power of technology.