What would you do? A story on This Morning

[chetnaz]

Just watching this morning about a woman who had a severly disabled child who was only being kept alive by being on a life support machine. She had come to the decision that they should turn the machine off, but her husband disagreed and wanted to keep him alive. It ended up in high court, with the husband and wife battling it out against each other, until the husband changed his mind and agreed to let the doctors switch off the machine. What are your opinions on this?

 

[justlove]

what a awful position to be in. Very sad thats my only opinion about it.

 

[Nervous_1]

This is gonna sound harsh but you wouldn't keep an animal alive in such circumstances, you'd want to put it out of it's misery. I don't think that living attached to machines is good for the child and will just prolong it's agony (and the parents agony too). There's no quality of life there, no chance of a recovery so I'd turn the machine off. Not because I didn't love that child and want it very much, but because I did love it, would want the best for it and would want to take all the pain and suffering away.

 

[littleD]

I`ve just seen this and it had me in tears. Complete sympathy for both the lo`s mummy and daddy and can totally see both sides of their story but i think until you are ever in that position (and hopefully none of us will be) then you wouldnt know what to do xx

 

[kerrie24]

I really dont know what I would do in the same position.
Now,I would say,well switch off the machines and let the poor child go peacefully.
BUT if I was in those circumstances I might think,what if I switch off the machine when some miracle could happen tommorrow and the child could have been saved.
I feel so sad for the parents.

 

[oliviarose]

This is gonna sound harsh but you wouldn't keep an animal alive in such circumstances, you'd want to put it out of it's misery. I don't think that living attached to machines is good for the child and will just prolong it's agony (and the parents agony too). There's no quality of life there, no chance of a recovery so I'd turn the machine off. Not because I didn't love that child and want it very much, but because I did love it, would want the best for it and would want to take all the pain and suffering away.

I have to agree with this. It would be the most heartbreaking decision I would ever have to make.

 

[Lellow]

Ok, its not the same, but i guess i can sympathise in that when my dad was in hospital in his last few hours after a 10 yr battle with testicular and bone cancer, we as a family were asked if we wanted the life machine to keep him going or should they switch it off...

....we as a family, as in my brothers and sister and my mum decided that the amount of pain hes in and the chance of any kinda life if that machine was the only thing keeping him going, then to keep it on was just selfish....so we asked for it to be switched off so he could finally be at peace!

At 19 yrs old, i found that absolutely heartbreaking, but understood that it was for the best!

In my opinion and experience, i agree with the mother and switching off the machine is in the childs best interest.

Its just so sad though....

 

[Mrschoochoo]

I would not want to put my child through pain they could not understand. I would swtich off the mashines

 

[nicole_]

i watched this.
the poor child had no life whatsoever so i would have to turn it off yes
i think it would be extremelly unfair to have carried on any longer than they did

 

[jojo2605]

I don't think it's a question any of us can possibly answer unless we were in her position. We can speculate on how we would feel but it's impossible to know.

All I know it that it is incrediblyt sad

 

[xnewxmummyx]

Sitting here now, I would say I would turn off the machine. I would want my child to be out of pain and misery. However, if put in that position, maybe my thoughts, and actions, would be entirely different.

My heart goes out to everyone and anyone in this situation. Just shows how cruel and undignified life can be.

O/T but after only 6weeks of my grandad being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer we weree called to the hospital and sat beside him while he died. I was 18 at the time and I loved him with everything, I even passed out with emotion, it was so cruel but I did/do know that was just his body and his soul had left long before and he was no longer suffering.

xx

 

[sweetcheeks78]

At the moment I would say switch off the machines, but in that position, if it was my LO there I honestly don't know what I'd do. I don't think anyone can know until they are in that position and faced with the decision for real. I feel so, so sorry for them and can only begin to imagine their pain.

 

[KittyVentura]

If there was even the faintest of hope of a recover of sorts then I'd keep the machines on and keep hoping. But in the case of a severe permenant disability which meant such a low standard of living... I would have to switch the machines off. I think it's selfish not to xx

 

[Mrs-C]

I would like to think I would do what was best for the child, and switch of the machines. I don't know though if in that situation I would be clinging to hope that a miracle may happen.

Sometimes I can be logical in situations and in others emotional. It's not the same thing as a child but when my 1 year old dog was sick and we had to travel to a specialist vet I thought if they find something and suggest we let him go, I would be able to do that for him so he wasn't in pain.

When we left him there for a day of tests and had to go and occupy ourselves and wait for the answer, I was a mess. I wasn't sure I could be without him. I started to think that we wouldn't take one opinion and I would keep looking for possible help for him.

So who knows what I would do if it was my child?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I think there's no way to really give an answer to this question without being in the moment. There would be a lot of emotion surrounding the decision and that would have an impact on the decision as well.

It's very sad for the parents though. Poor LO.

 

[tallybee]

So sad I have to say though that although obv. we can't say for sure without having been put in that position, I can say with some degree of certainty that I would allow them to slip away. It's not benefiting the child to be kept going artificially like that, no chance of recovery, no life at all. I don't see how it's really benefiting anyone else either - not that it matters as the child's who it's about anyway. Clinging to a false hope and stringing out your pain and grief can't be healthy really.

I just feel so privileged to never have had to make a decision like that.

 

[Nibblenic]

I would want to switch off the machine. I can see and pretty much know that my OH would not want to do that.

It must have been a horrific experience for everyone involved.

 

[Rhio92]

There's always the question of 'what if'
No one should ever have to make a decision like that