Parents' Decision

Catholic Vote article

I just read this article.  The article hit close to home because this is exactly what made Madelyn's situation a life/death one.  Because her brain was so underdeveloped, she did not know how to swallow (which is why I had so much amniotic fluid a.k.a polyhydramnios).  If you don't know how to swallow, you can't handle your natural secretions and they end up building up and blocking your airway.  Madelyn was able to breathe on her own for a little over a day, but had to be "suctioned out".  Think of the little tool that you spit into at the dentist...  She was finally placed on the ventilator after she "crashed" about 6 times within an hour.  The vent plus the suctioning kept her very stable.


After reading this article, I completely agree that this is a decision to be left up to the parents of the child, especially when they were willing to take their son home with a tracheotomy.  I know the Catholic church's view on life support is that if it is not a temporary means of life support, that there is really no quality of life and that you are just prolonging the inevitable.  That doesn't mean that a parent could decide to attempt to care for their child at home.  It makes me sick to think that the government could force this family into making a decision that they did not feel comfortable with.