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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My mother was 71 when she was diagnosed with a detestable combination of dementia and ALS. She was so healthy otherwise, but she quickly could not be left alone because of the dementia--and the ALS started affecting her ability to eat.

It was a *huge* battle with my father (understandably so), but I knew she would not want to live for years and years in increasingly worse versions of this, and her health care POA said "no extreme measures," and so we finally prevailed upon dad to not agree to a feeding tube.

She died 18 months after diagnosis, not long after she completely lost the ability to swallow. If she had had the feeding tube inserted, I am convinced she would have lived another 10 years, needing 24/7 care.

It's probably as close to legal assisted suicide as one can come, but I have absolutely no regrets over that decision. Her death was devastating, but if her illness had continued for years, it would have destroyed everyone in my family.

[/quote]
as a nurse, I often see patients' whose families decide to do the feeding tube...patients who have little to zero quality of life.  It's sad[/quote]

In the UK they won’t put feeding tubes into patients with advanced dementia. Quite rightly, in my view.[/quote]

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