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One of my Uncles was ill & he was told he would have to go on dialysis or die, he decided not to go on dialysis, & he seemed to die soon afterwards. I hope your loved one can make an informed decision.
A friend decided to stop dialysis after a few years as other problems would mean he would need to go into an Aged Care facility. He died peacefully and had a few days in which to spend with his family and either talk to or see all of his friends. Much nicer death than that of my mother, which was from starving and dehydrating with dementia.
My dad had stage 4 kidney failure and cancer, and was told his kidneys were in danger of imminent failure. He decided not to start dialysis.
Well, it turns out his kidneys were not in imminent danger after all; he died of the cancer, 3 months later. It sounds like the kidneys would have been the easier way to go...
Well that’s good to hear. For some reason I thought it was a very painful one.
No, the opposite. My mother is on dialysis, and I once had a conversation with an RN who had been a dialysis nurse for decades. She said people do get to the point where their health is so poor and life has no quality that they choose to end the dialysis. Basically you go unconscious and die within three days.
One famous person who did this was author James Michener. He was around 90, if I recall correctly, and had been on dialysis for a few years and decided to stop. He sent out a public goodbye to his readers to tell them he had made the decision, had lived a full life, and thanked everyone for reading his work over the years.
Yes, my aunt made this decision about 12 years ago. About 6 weeks before her death she was advised she would need to start kidney dialysis. She was blind and elderly [not diabetic though] and decided she did not want to start dialysis.
She died peacefully at home, living with my cousin and her family.
I wish you peace with whatever decision you help make for your loved one.
Thanks everyone. I'm going to let my mom know this...she'll feel better about letting my dad make this decision.
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