ANDREA CLARK - EPILOGUE

[Th1onein]

Dear Fellow DUers:

Some of you might remember me from my posts about my sister, Andrea Clark. For those of you who don't, my sister had heart disease and, under the Texas Futile Care Law, the hospital she was in was trying to "pull her plug." The hospital, St. Luke's Episcopal, in Houston, Texas, finally backed down, by helping to get another doctor on staff there, to consent to treat Andrea. About a week later, my sister died. She died with her family around her, and at her own natural pace. My family had a fight on it's hands in order to stop St. Luke's from killing Andrea, but both the Democrats and the Republicans got together and helped us.

Now that you've been brought up to speed, I have a few other things to tell you about this subject: My sister is not the only patient that a Texas hospital is trying to kill. This happens all the time, but most of the time it is not publicized. Most of the time, a family, with their hands full just trying to care for their loved one, is met by doctors who have forgotten their oath to do no harm, and who pressure the family to agree to withdraw treatment from the patient. I am sure that most of these doctors truly believe that what they are doing is "compassionate," but I believe, as many others do, that no one who does not have a personal relationship with the patient should step into the very personal position of making these kinds of decisions for the patient, or for the family. The right to die has been subverted, because of this law, and because of the insurance companies' and hospital corporations' love of money, to a DUTY to die.

I submit to you, as well, that the people of this country will not be able to take their country back unless and until they come together, united in purpose. There are many purposes that do not unite us, but instead divide us. This is not one of those wedge issues. This is an issue that can bring Republicans and Democrats together. The more issues of this kind that you find and that you unite to work on, the louder all of our voices become; it is in this uniting that we, the people of this country, will find our strength.

Below is an account, from my other sister, Lanore, of her and Andrea's attorneys' visit to a Mrs. Vo, who is another patient that another hospital wants to kill. This practice has got to stop. We might any one of us be, tomorrow, in this family's position:

I was in Austin this weekend and asked Jerri Ward (the lawyer who
represented Andrea and who is also representing Mrs. Vo) if I could go
see
Mrs. Vo. She thought it was a good idea and she met me up there Sunday
morning. We were escorted to Mrs. Vo's room by her
husband, Mr. Tran.

Before I was allowed in the room, a nurse stopped us at the door and
demanded to know who I was. I told her I was a friend of the family.
She
wanted to know what "kind" of friend I was. I told her I was an
"important"
friend of the family. She said if I was media she couldn't let me in.
This
didn't seem right to me, but I didn't argue the point since I wasn't
media.
I assured her I was not media. We washed and gowned and went in to see
Mrs.
Vo. The nurse hovered in the room and about the door for most of the
visit.

We weren't there five minutes and another hospital official along with
a
security guard came into the room and handed me a business card. She
told
me I'd
have to call the administrator on the card and identify myself. Is it
just
me or is this sounding Gestapo to you too? I asked her if she was
telling me
I couldn't visit the patient if unless I called this person. She
started
crabwalking a bit..."I'm just saying you are to call..." I demanded to
know
if she was telling me I couldn't visit the patient. Then the security
guard
interrupted and said he thought there was some kind of misunderstanding
and
he drew the woman back out into the hall to talk in low tones--after a
few
minutes they disappeared down the hall.

By this time I was fairly livid. I wanted to visit with Mrs. Vo and
they
kept interrupting. After another five minutes, here comes ANOTHER
hospital
official to verify that I was not
media. I don't know what's wrong with those people. Are they stupid or
something? Are they calling me a liar? How many times do they have to
be
told I am not media? And even if I were, it's none of their business if
the
family wants me there! I mean, is Mrs. Vo a patient or a prisoner?

Mr. Tran loves his wife so much. The entire time we were there he
rubbed her
skin with oil,
did range of motion exercises on her, cleaned her mouth, suctioned her
mouth
and vent. Oh...the nurse was mad about that...she was so rude.

Mrs. Vo is much healthier than Andrea. She's nice and fat and her skin
is
beautiful--not all broken down like Andrea's. She watches you with her
eyes--despite the nurse telling us that "she can't track." Nonsense.
She
probably is uncooperative with the hospital because she knows they
don't
care about her. She was "tracking" her husband, me, and Jerri just
fine.
The nurse got mad when Mr. Tran swabbed out his wife's mouth. The
nurse
said, "I just did that." He ignored her and continued to care for his
wife,
so the nurse started complaining to us about it. Jerri asked the nurse
if
it would hurt if he cleaned out his wife's mouth. She hesitated, then
she
said, "Well, she doesn't like it." Sure enough, Mrs. Vo was making an
ugly
face as her husband swabbed her mouth. Well, apparently, the patient
has
preferences about having her mouth cleaned. To me, this says she is
responding to her environment. And even the nurse admitted that.

No one can convince me that Mr. Tran isn't experiencing a feeling of
love as
he cares for his wife or that Mrs. Vo isn't experiencing the feeling of
being loved as he takes care of her. Those are the most exquisite of
all
human experiences--if Mrs. Vo still has access to the best of all human
experiences, how can it be anything other than pure murder for them to
remove her life support?

This is all becoming very surreal to me...how is it that hospitals seem
to
feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to killing off patients? How
is it
that they have so much resentment towards those who believe in a
patient's
right to life? Are they so comfortable with the God-like power
attributed to
them by the law and families that they become apoplectic at the very
notion
that someone might question their authority?

That kind of power is very dangerous to anyone who could possibly
become a
patient. Texas isn't the only state with medical futility laws. We all
need
to be fighting this battle.

Lanore Dixon

[annabanana]

1. Thank you for keeping us posted.

The "medical futility laws" are nothing less than forced euthanasia statutes, the way you describe them being administered. Do you know which other states have them? The calamity seems to fall on those who cannot afford to pay for 100% of their own medical care.

If there was ever a cause that could unite us, left & right, it would be this.

k&r

[Crunchy Frog]

2. Thank you for the update.

I'm sorry about your sister, but glad that she was allowed to go in her own time, instead of being forcibly terminated.

I hope that something can be done to end these barbaric laws.

[Jane Austin]

3. What a heartbreaking story.

Which hospital in Austin is Mrs. Vo in?

Thanks.

[Th1onein]

4. I'm not sure, but I can find out for you. Also, let me tell you this:

This hospital and it's staff is absolutely terrified of the media. But the media is not talking about this unless they are forced to. Who forces them? THE BLOGS.

The hospital is afraid of the wrong entity. The blogs will bring this murder to the light and force a change in this law.

We can all do something to stop this institutionalized killing: Spread the word on the blogs. These hospitals are deathly afraid that this is going to become common knowledge. We need to make sure that it does.

[Jane Austin]

6. Isn't Mrs. Vo's condition what Hospice is for?

Or am I not understanding it?

[still_one]

7. That is why this is a private family matter. Government should stay out

Hospice is a family decision when they want all support that will prolong life to be removed. I am not sure if this is the case

[IndyOp]

10. She might qualify for hospice if doctors believe she has just a

few months to live. If she is paralyzed due to stroke and could live for years then it is not time for hospice. Also - maybe she is in a medical condition that is too much for a nursing home or home care to handle - but does not qualify for hospice. I used to work at a nursing home and patients were shuttled back and forth to the hospital depending on their medical condition.

:(

[Jane Austin]

27. Thanks for that explanation.

I guess I had understood that Mrs. Vo was terminal.

Sorry for the mistake.

[still_one]

5. The point is it should be up to the family

The government or the state has no business in this

This also shows the hypocricy of those that are in power. They wanted to get involved with Terry Shivo(sic) in Florida, where it was also a famiy matter

Government should stay out of our private lives

[elehhhhna]

11. One can't end it w/ dignity but can be forced by bureauocracy? Chilling.

[femrap]

8. Thank you for updating us....

I am so sorry for your loss. The blogs will help...I know it.

May I ask....how old is Mrs. Vo?

[Th1onein]

9. Here is some more information about Ms. Vo

Ms. Vo is in her 60's and a patient at St. David's North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas. She has been diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state but that is disputed by the family. Ms. Vo's daughter, Loann Trihn, an emergency room doctor, says that such a diagnosis is very subjective and involves clinical assessments. Dr. Trihn and her father say they have both witnessed her mother being responsive.

Mrs. Vo was born in Vietnam. She was a young mother when Saigon fell. Her husband was an officer in the South Vietnamese Navy. After the Communists took over, they put her husband in a re-education camp. Mrs. Vo worked hard to earn enough money to bribe guards so that her husband could escape the camp. After his escape, the couple fled from Vietnam on a rickety boat with other "boat people" in 1979. They came to America, where Yolang continued to work hard so that she could bring her young daughter out of Vietnam to America. She achieved that in 1981. She also helped her sisters and the rest of her family escape the Communists to come to America. Yolang's family reveres her.

[knitter4democracy]

14. They're doing it to a doctor's mom?!?!?!

Now we know how messed up the system is. Right there is all the evidence we need. Whatever happened to doctor privilege there? Whatever happened to respecting a colleague? Okay, she may be ER, but she's still an MD, for crying out loud.

This is one seriously messed up medical system. So very bad. If even doctors get the shaft, you know we're all messed up.

[Catrina]

16. These are horror stories ~ Mrs. Vo sounds like a wonderful woman

with a loving family and deserves the right to die when the time comes. I wonder would this be happening to her had she stayed in Vietnam?

As I recall, Bush signed this law, naturally since it benefits Insurance companies. The hypocrisy of these people. This is euthenasia, something the right-to-life people are against, but apparently their party of choice disagrees with. I hope this wakens them up.

This country scares me to be honest ~ more than ever it's obvious we need a national health-care system of some kind.

This statement really got to me ~

<i>is Mrs. Vo a patient or a prisoner?</i>

Btw, has anyone contacted Michael Moore about this law? He is making a movie about the healthcare system and was looking for stories of actual experiences people have had with it. Maybe he'd be interested in your sister's story? Just a thought, as far as getting it out so that more people are aware of this horrific law ~

Thank you for the update ~ and I hope your family is doing alright since the death of your beloved sister.

[spooky3]

18. SAINT David's Medical Ctr? Does this mean it is a Catholic facility?

If so, how can they allow these practices? I thought these were contrary to Catholic principles.

[Jane Austin]

28. I believe St. David's is owned by a public/ private board. It has been

run by HCA for many years, IIRC.

[spooky3]

29. thanks

[elehhhhna]

12. If they'd asked me who I was I'd say

"I'm a partner at(blah blah blah insert bigtime local malpractice litigation firm here) and an old friend of Mrs VO's"

[knitter4democracy]

13. Wow. Just .. . wow.

I cannot believe how awful they were being to your sister. Yes, they have to be careful about patients' visitors, due to HIPAA, but Lanore went in with the family's blessing, obviously.

I've been run down for a couple of weeks, but I'm starting to feel better now. I'm going to start my own campaign in the medical community.

For example, we have a similar law here in Michigan. If two doctors agree, they can withdraw care of a medically futile patient. I asked my hubby, though, and he said that, all through internal medicine residency and since being an attending, he has never once seen it used. Not once. Still, it makes me very nervous that it's on the books at all.

I let my membership lapse in the doctor's spouses group with the AMA. I'm renewing it this week, and I'm going to start going to my local chapter so I can start pressuring them to come out against this kind of injustice. I'm going to have Hubby take on the MSMS and the AMA, and I'm going to call my contact at AMNews to see if this can be dealt with there. I'm now the organizer for our local DFA chapter, and I'm going to make it an issue in the campaign. We have a Republican running for re-election to the House who's a doctor, and I would love to see what he would do about this--he's gone to the right and loves his buddy Bush. Ick.

People need to die as complete and full humans, with their dignity intact, and the way they choose (if at all possible). Hospitals can't make that decision, doctors can't make that decision, and insurance companies sure as hell shouldn't make that decision. It should be entirely and solely in the hands of the patient and his or her loved ones. The reality is that medicine is more art than science, and no one knows when a patient will die. Let's not rush it for the dollar's sake.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

15. Why aren't they fighting for this life like Terri Schiavo?

Terri was much worse off than what it sounds like these people are. It makes no sense. Oh wait. I forgot. She's not white and affluent. :eyes:

[Th1onein]

19. Inform yourself, fellow DUer.

They ARE fighting for this life. Just as they fought for my sister's life.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

20. They as in the republicans.

Geez I was just askin'.

[Th1onein]

21. It's okay. I'm overly touchy these days.

Many of the people--people who are "right to lifers" and usually voting Republican, came out to fight for my sister, and they are now fighting for Ms. Vo. The problem in the Texas legislature is that no one there, either Dem or Repub, is fighting against this law. This is a law that benefits INSURANCE COMPANIES and HOSPITAL CORPORATIONS. I guess there aren't many politicians that are willing to cut off that kind of PAC money during an election year, huh?

[SeattleGirl]

17. This "medical futility" law is exactly this: selective euthanasia.

Essentially, if you are poor, doctors and hospital staff can step in and decide whether you should live or die, and to hell with the patient's wishes, and to hell with the families. This whole thing angers me so much, for you and your family, Melanie, for Mrs. Vo and her family, and for anyone and everyone who is in this situation.

What the hell is wrong with the people who passed this piece of legislation? And what the hell is wrong with doctors who would follow this law? It would seem to me that the Hippocratic Oath would take precedence over a state law. First do no harm should apply not only to the rich and well-insured; it should -- and does -- apply to ALL patients, not just a select few. This law is, in my opinion, immoral and unethical to the nth degree.

Melanie, I thank you for sharing not only information about this law, but most especially, the very personal and painful experience that Andrea went through, and what you and your family went through, as well as the continuing aftermath of that experience. I wish for all of you, peace.

Thank you for continuing to bring this to people's attention. You are right -- there are many issues about which the "right" and the "left" are divided, sometimes deeply so. This should not be one of them. It must not be one of them. It doesn't matter what a person's political leaning is -- no one but them and/or their family should have the right to decide whether they live or die, and on that, I think the two sides can unite and fight against medical futility laws.

Bless you and your family, Melanie.

[emcguffie]

22. Do they have Catholic hospitals in Texas?

They could not possibly participate in such as this. Not that I mean I necessarily approve of all the actions of Catholic hospitals. But they are essentially pro-life, so I cannot imagine how they could justify deliberately letting someone die who might live, given the appropriate treatment.

There are times when it seems as though medicine throws lots of very expensive treatment at people that are not going to live no matter what. But when it comes down to it, none of us can know that for sure. I guess that's what they're trying to avoid: "wasting" money on someone who's dying anyway. Gee, did God confide in them? I've gone through that with mother, and she did not die -- not at that time. Yes, she did die, later. But I had her for another year or two. And she had us for another year or two.

[davsand]

23. It comes down to cost and available facilities.

At least that is how a hospital exec tried to explain it to me when I asked about that Texas law.

According to him, these cases are always people who have been "judged" as having no possible recovery, usually they have capped out on their insurance coverage, and they are taking up space in critical care units where beds are at a premium. In his words it is a matter of putting hospital resources where they can maximize positive impact

I just about did a spit take with my coffee at that point. This particular guy worked for a Catholic hospital system.

When I asked him what possible difference the patients' insurance should play in this decision , he responded that it all came down to somebody paying the bill for that ICU stay...

Consider this, in light of what you now know about Texas, that hospital system there, as well as the attitudes of Hospital Execs:

What REALLY pissed me off about that guy Cheney shot was the hospital spokesmen out front saying that the guy was not seriously injured when Unca Dick blasted him--yet he was in an ICU bed. That rich lawyer buddy of Dick Cheney's was sitting in a bed that somebody else could well have been killed in because they were "capped out" on their insurance.

Kind of puts it in perspective, doesn't it?



Laura

[knitter4democracy]

24. He's using the wrong decision making base.

I realize that there often has to be some kind of rationing of care. I also realize that patients need to be taken care of--first do no harm. Those ICU beds are at a premium because most hospitals have downsized that dept. only to have that bite them in the a$$ now. What they need to do is start up long-term acute care facilities, as the hospitals up here are doing, that can provide the right level of care for longer periods of time until the patient either gets better or gets worse and needs to be back in the hospital.

I thought that, too, about V.P. Cheney's gunshot victim. If he wasn't so bad off, why did they transfer him to a bigger hospital and put him in the unit? He was much worse than Cheney wanted to admit--gunshell fragments can do serious damage to the face and chest.

[SoCalDem]

26. And Charlie Rose was in ICU (apparently) for weeks

after a mitral valve replacement (pretty simple, usually).. Of course Charlie had surgery in France..(wonder who paid fopr that operation)..

Perhaps the "Frenchies" just take better care of post-surgical patients..

A friend of ours was sent HOME a few days after open heart surgery..and was treated as an outpatient during his recovery,.,

[Joe Chi Minh]

25. I could have a heart attack reading a post like that, it makes me

so angry.

I might well have started shouting at the nurse and been forcibly ejected from the hospital. Shades of 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'.

I couldn't handle what you're doing, the campaigning. God bless you and what you're doing: trying to bless your proteges, not only in the most fundamental matter of preventing their murder, but even God - forgive you! - visiting them and arguing for respect of their most simple human rights - and all in the teeth of a seething, rancid, evil officialdom, and its all too willing myrmidons.