This story is not unique. It is happening thousands of times a year. Please be aware of what is happening in some U.S. hospitals, nursing homes and Hospice.
“I believe my mother was killed while in hospice care this August. Mother had congestive heart failure, kidney issues and some Dementia. I had moved mother to a new facility which meant she had to have a change in hospice nurses. Up to the point of her move, her nurse and another staff nurse told me explicitly that my mother definitely did not need any Morphine, at least not at this point.
“A couple hours later Mom was at the new facility, eating lunch in the dining room. An hour after the meal was done; I meet with Mom, the new nurse and a social worker in the Activity room. Mother was answering questions, smiling and eating an ice cream soda. Mom told us that she had no pain, yet the nurse told me she wanted to give her a little bit of morphine just for “comfort.” This nurse ordered and scheduled, to begin that day, 5 mg. morphine, Xanax and Haldol gel (atavan, benadryl, haldol), to be administered through the day, not as needed but “scheduled”.
“In the evening, in addition to these drugs, mother would get Seroquel, another anti-psychotic sedative and Restoral, a benzodiazepam for sleeping. I was completely duped. I was going on what the other nurse, just hours before had said. She was adamant that my mother was not at the point of needing any morphine. Mother was on Tylenol for pain until this new nurse and that was sufficient.
“I had never heard the term “terminal sedation,” but that is exactly what this nurse did to my mother.
“The nurse also ordered a special bed that “cradles” the patient so that they can’t get out. I believe this was ordered in addition to all the drugs so mother wouldn’t be able to get out of the bed to get a drink of water or whatever.
“When they started these drugs they put mother into heavy sedation. They did not tell me a thing. I was called just hours before she passed. When I was there they escalated the doses of Morphine. They also gave her doses of Haldol gel and Xanax.
“Mother died at 5:30 p.m.
“Since August 19 my head is spinning because I feel it’s my fault for not being aware of what they were doing to her. I had Power of Attorney and they had an obligation to be honest with me; instead, they tricked me and my mother. I would never have allowed them to put her into terminal sedation, which clearly is euthanasia.
“I brought my mother home for burial. It took time for me to understand what had happened. I want, at the very least, to use my voice against these people and institutions that do these terrible things to our elderly. I just don’t know how or which way to turn.”
Ron Panzer, LPN, Executive Director of Hospice Patients Alliance and member of the Pro-life Healthcare Alliance said,
This is very real. The 100% increase in dosage of the opioid medications is contrary to all standards of care for a patient with severe uncontrolled pain, where they would increase by 25-50% over a 24 hour period. This woman had little pain, took Tylenol and was ok with that. They intended her death and killed her outright… direct euthanasia, not terminal sedation.
[16 Nov 12, Human Life Alliance e-letter]