Brain Death

Brain dead? Body being kept alive artificially by machine? Tough call, but if the machines are all that is working is the person really alive?

Don't know for sure, but I think there is a good chance the soul has already departed at that stage so why keep the shell working?

Tough question.

 

To "me" a blanket yes or no will not suffice.
It would depend on the situation.

I haven't shared a whole lot about this, but at one time my dh and were "urged" to unplug our son when he was 5 1/2 months old. We were told the ONLY brain activity was seizure activity. We refused. I stated it was still activity. At that time our son was on total life support. The reason given was quality of life for him when he came off life support and the need for his organs.

When he did come off life support we were told that he would never walk, talk, feed himself, etc. We were told he would be a "vegetable" just lying in a bed. His first word was "oooh-li" for light at 12 months. He crawled from 9 mos to 2 1/2 til he learned to walk. Today, he is 11 years old. He walks, runs, carries on conversations, and many other things.

Looking back, I am so glad I didn't go along with the doctors.

 

"Brain death" indicates the total lack of brain activity. At such a point, the only way the body is kept alive is by artificial means.

Once the brain is dead, there is no return. This is not the same as a coma, or paralysis. Gilliam Berea can sometimes cause a coma-like state where the patient's respiration ceases, and without life support, it causes death. Many have came out of comas and the like after being kept alive by machines.

I have had personal (and painful) experience with this matter, as in my sister and my best friend. With one, God took the decision out of our hands. In the other, the choice was made, and I got to hold my best friend as his body died.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

I’ve worked in critical care areas of a hospital for decades and have seen more than my share of death. Hard though it may be, the decision to disconnect a person from life prolonging machines is often necessary. I've also worked through the decision to withhold life prolonging devices with a family member. The process of dying is hard and reminds us of the need for Christ's sacrifice and His sufficiency in all things.

Listen to the physician when he offers advise. While the doctor is not “all-knowing”, they are wise and can assist you in making a decision. They can not / will not, force you to make a decision however.

All to often, families are wracked with guilt and the desire for all efforts be made to save a dearly loved family member. These cases are tragic. Medical teams can keep a “dead” body going by inserting a pacemaker, using pressor drugs, heart-assist devices, breathing machines, and other exotic devices. Such last ditch efforts to save a person’s life don’t make the body alive, they merely extend the dying process. (Don’t get me wrong; there are times that these efforts are worthy).

I recently read and article called, “Living ‘till the end” about how to ease the process of dieing. It encourages people to make advance directives (living wills). A popular form called, “Five Wishes” is accepted in many states and should be used to communicate your wishes to those whom you love and will make these tough decisions about YOU when (and if) they need to be made.

http://www.agingwithdignity.org/5wishes.pdf
http://www.agingwithdignity.org/5wishes.html

Rob

 

It would also depend on the situation and have to be no brain activity and no breathing unassisted, etc. I would not withold food or liquids or make this decision quickly. If it were my husband or child, I'd have a hard time letting them go but I wouldn't play God.

My husbands father had to be in an Iron Lung for many years from polio. He was totally unable to breath outside the Iron Lung until a rocking bed came along later. He died just a few weeks after they moved him to the rocking bed. (Forced air in and out).

Diane

 

Yes. The brain controlls the body. When the brain ceases, the body follows suit. Not only would I pull the plug, but all of my family members and I have said that, in the event of brain death, or for that matter, any type of situation where artificial life support is required for an extended time, please, allow me to die, and pull the plug.

Many people talk about adding years to their life. I, rather, prefer to add life to my years.

 

My parents are up in their years. I pray that I do not EVER have to make this decision. I hope the Lord spares me and when their death occurs, I pray that it occurs quicly and without my participation.

 

I also work in Critical Care as a Nurse and have seen and worked with the families of a loved one who is only still alive by the machines which were invented to assist a human being. It is always painful, I am so glad I am not the Medical Officer broaching the subject for the first time. It does help if the family is aware of the person's wishes, as is religious faith. It is so much worse for those who have no religious convictions and think death is the final end.

 

If there is no brain activity, the person is already dead and the artificial life support should be stopped. That is a good time to make organ donation.

In Wisconsin we have a Medical Power of Attorney which any person can fill out with two witnesses (no attorney needed). It can be countermanded at any time by simply destroying the form. It deals with feeding, hydration, and artificial life support. If your state has one you should fill it out, then your family will not have to make the decision to "pull the plug." You will have already made the decision for yourself.

 

If my family were ever faced with something like that, I hope after my brain is dead, they will pull the plug.
Because if the soul departs from the body when the brain dies, I'd be in Heaven with my Lord. I wouldn't want to think my family would be burdened with keeping my heart going and me not there. To spend all the money, for someone to constantly care for a shell, I just wouldn't wish it on the ones I love.
Now don't get me wrong, I love living, and hope I have many years left, but if my soul has departed, let me go.
~Abby
Proverbs 31:30 KJB

 

Hi Su Wei,

Is there a living will present for this type of situation? I have one so that my family will know my wishes. I do not want to be kept alive by life support. If I'm considered brain dead, I'd rather they not suffer any longer and receive some closure.

Continue to pray and know that others are praying with you.

Kim

 

>>Is there no one out there who is against pulling the plug in a brain death situation?<<

If it DEFFINATE Brain death, no. If there is ANY question or doubt YES!!

 

If the body will not function without machines and repeated tests, repeated tests show NO brain activity whatsoever, I'd consider pulling the plug.

NEVER, EVER would I 'pull' the plug on any brain activity or starve a person to death. Only if the machine is keeping the person alive and a good amount of time is given for the body to 'restart' and respond would I ever consider it.

I think we've become such a 'disposable society' that even a human life means little to most. We just don't want the inconvenience. We're special.

Diane

 

Part of my will includes "no heroics". In plain English, if life is unsustainable without the use of machinery to keep me from brain death, then let me go. God is the ultimate Judge of whether I live or die, and I am ready to meet Him at any time.

Cheers,

Jim

 

"Brain Death"—The Hoax That Won't Die

by Earl E. Appleby, Jr.

"Whether you are classified as dead or alive depends upon your attending physician's understanding of the concept of death. The radical departure from the traditional cardiorespiratory standard of death inherent in "brain death" has, in Capron and Kass's words, brought "extramedical concepts to the forefront of concern." Moreover, "medical judgments," as Lamb reminds us "are informed by philosophical presuppositions, whether or not the latter are explicitly formulated." The following article explicates the "philosophical presuppositions" underlying the "extramedical concepts" of brain death as articulated by its proponents.

If as propagandist par excellence, Joseph Goebbels maintained, a lie repeated often enough is soon believed, the brainwashed public's blind faith in "brain death" is telling testimony to the pervasive power of the big lie. Regrettably, while the medical myth of brain death won't die, its victims do."

http://www.vitalsignsministries.org/vsmBrainDeath-TheHoax.html