If something happened to you that would cause you to be on a persistent vegetative state, would you want to live or not? If you want, explain why you would choose either one.

Also, what are your thoughts and opinions about this topic in general? What would you do if one of your relatives was in this vegetative state? Have you ever discussed with your family what you would want in case something like this happened to you or them?

Here is a definition of PVS for those of you that need it:

A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a permanent condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness.

Here is the Diagnosis:

Many patients emerge from a vegetative state within a few weeks, but those who do not recover within 30 days are said to be in a persistent vegetative state. The chances of recovery depend on the extent of injury to the brain and the patient's age, with younger patients having a better chance of recovery than older patients. Generally adults have a 50 percent chance and children a 60 percent chance of recovering consciousness from a PVS within the first 6 months. After a year, the chances that a PVS patient will regain consciousness are very low and most patients who do recover consciousness experience significant disability. The longer a patient is in a PVS, the more severe the resulting disabilities will be. Rehabilitation can contribute to recovery, but many patients never progress to the point of being able to take care of themselves.

Signs and Symptoms:

Patients in a persistent vegetative state are usually considered to be unconscious and unaware. They are unresponsive to external stimuli, except, possibly, pain stimuli. Unlike coma, in which the patient's eyes are closed, patients in a vegetative state often open their eyes. Their eyes might be in a relatively fixed position, or track moving objects, or move in a disconjugate (i.e. completely unsynchronised) manner. They may experience sleep-wake cycles, or be in a state of chronic wakefulness. They may exhibit some behaviors that can be construed as arising from partial consciousness, such as grinding their teeth, swallowing, smiling, shedding tears, grunting, moaning, or screaming without any apparent external stimulus.

Source

Question:
What would you want to happen to you if you were in a persistent vegetative state?

Choices:
I would want to live no matter what.
I would prefer to be put to death rather then live like that.
I would leave it up to my family to decide.
I am undecided.

 

I really don't know. I would say that it depends on the situation, but I can't say what the situations would be...

No. Currently, they can deny I ever said it.

quote:

Not if I got it in writing. They'd be legally obligated, then.

Have you?

Not if I got it in writing. They'd be legally obligated, then.

You know, I've thought about it and even if I told my parents that I did not want to live that way, I doubt that they would pull the plug on me. They would hold on on me for as long as they could. And I find that sad.

Do any of you think that you would have this problem?

I think I would want them to pull the plug. I wouldn't want to be alive, but not able to make choices.

Yeah, I told them to kill me. I'd do the same courtesy. Who wants to die helpless and alone?

quote:

But no, I wouldn't want to live like that.

What would you do if one of your close relatives was in this vegetative state? And also, I was curious Shade, have you ever discussed with your family members what you would want if this was to happen?

I've never heard that description before. It's, uh, uncanny. But no, I wouldn't want to live like that.

Heh...and here I thought this topic was interesting. But it never got any action.