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Resuscitation (CPR) |
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 Introduction
- Decisions about resuscitation (CPR)
When a person's circulation stops, death occurs. If someone's heart
stops, he or she will die unless circulation is restarted quickly.
Since a person's sudden collapse must be addressed so quickly, many
people are trained to make the efforts needed to restart circulation
right away. And, usually, treatment is what people in the community
would want.
However, when you are seriously ill, you may find this procedure,
called cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), to be worthless or even
deeply disturbing. While you may be grateful for the time you have,
or at least willing to endure whatever time fate hands out, you might
well not want someone to disrupt your time of death with a flurry
of activity that is doomed to have little effect. |
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Adapted from The
Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness,
by Joanne Lynn and Joan Harrold, copyright by Joanne Lynn, used by
permission of Oxford University Press.
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