DNR means “Do Not Resuscitate.” DNR orders are written instructions from a physician telling health care providers not to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). CPR uses mouth-to-mouth or machine breathing and chest compressions to restore the work of the heart and lungs when someone’s heart or breathing has stopped. It is an emergency rescue technique that was developed to save the life of people who are generally in good health.
Research shows about only 40% of patients will survive CPR after a cardiac arrest, but even fewer – only 10-20% – survive long enough to be discharged from the hospital. For patients with end stage heart or lung disease – CPR does not appreciably lengthen life, and it can leave survivors with painful injuries and reduced function.
This podcast discusses the alternative – a DNR order. Most terminally-ill patients would prefer to die naturally surrounded by their loved ones instead of the trauma caused by CPR. We also discuss the difference between DNR and Allow Natural Death.
Resources
- When Is a “Do Not Resuscitate” Order the Right Choice? – Verywell
- Guide to Making a DNR Document – Rocket Lawyer
Do Not Resuscitate – by Brenda Butka, MD
I can say your father is dying. I can say wishing will not make it so, belief doesn't change a thing. I can say love does not conquer all, miracles are pretty stories told in church, the movies you saw as a child are lies, blind hope is not a recipe for success, underdogs usually lose, death is not the worst thing, it is just the last thing. But for you that is not true. I can say we have to pretend that we can bring him wheezing back to you like an old accordion, chest pleating in and out, singing his customary songs, oxygen bumping its hurdy-gurdy way again through his ancient heart. But how can I tell you how someone will shout down the hallway, kneel frantic on the bed, lean his fists against that old breastbone, sharp, frail, one onethousand, two onethousand, and count it out. I can say we should not do this. He will never be the same. I can say if it were my father. I can say do not confuse resuscitation with resurrection, although neither works particularly well. You look like you are drowning, pallid and slow in the waiting room’s underwater light. So. Tell me. Tell me again. Tell me about your father. JAMA. 2012;308(16):1613. doi:10.1001/2012.jama.11596
Funeral Theater – Wit
Marcia rejoins us as a guest to perform a fantastic dramatization with Marianne of a key moment in Wit, a popular Broadway play that was later adapted to a film with Emma Thompson.
The discussion centers around DNR.
Recipe
So are the bigger chocolaholic recipes a bit much for your diet? We’ve got you covered…well, if you can only eat one. How about Mini Death by Chocolate Cheesecakes? Click here for the recipe!
Everything’s Funny…as long as it happens to someone else!
Charlie shares a joke with us in our first episode with humor segment, but we need more! Please send us your jokes, questions, ideas and more!
