Bob Mount: Living wills are worthy of consideration

My late father-in-law, Dr. Jack Douglass, was an eye, ear, and throat specialist who practiced in Jackson, Tenn., until he retired at age 93. He was the oldest practicing physician in the state of Tennessee.

Not long after he retired, he began experiencing some health problems and was hospitalized. His attending physician diagnosed his problems, and informed him and members of his family that surgery would be required, possibly removal of his colon, to relieve his symptoms. Dr. Douglass said, “I don’t want any surgery performed on me. I’m an old man, I’m not afraid to die, and besides, it would be a waste of money.”

Dr. Douglass could be cantankerous at times, but at age 93, his mind was as sound as it had ever been. He realized his life was nearing an end and that to prolong it would in all likelihood fail and be, as he concluded, “a waste of money.”

He was, in effect, a one-person “death panel,” who decided that death was preferable in his case to any other alternative. He died peacefully shortly after reaching his decision.

I and other adult family members of my late son, Robert Jr., constituted what some might consider a death panel in deciding whether he should keep on living or be allowed to die following an accident. Robert suffered cardiac arrest while swimming and was transported to EAMC, where he lay unconscious for 24 hours in the intensive care unit, being kept alive by oxygen delivered to him through a tube. Then some bad news from one of his attending physicians …

“We’ve performed a brain scan on Robert and determined that his cerebrum is severely damaged. We can keep him alive indefinitely in the remote possibility that he regain consciousness. There is no possibility, however, that he would ever attain a state approaching normalcy.”

Every member of the “panel” knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that in Robert’s case, living in a severely impaired mental state would be infinitely worse for him than death and we sadly conveyed our decision that he be allowed to die to his physicians.

Janie and I updated our wills several years ago and had the attorney prepare “living wills” for each of us. Both included a provision that artificial life-support measures not be instituted, or prolonged, if it was determined that there was no hope of recovery from a sickness or other debilitating condition. We told the attorney to include instructions that would permit performance of procedures resembling, as nearly as the law allows, assisted suicide.

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Last week I noticed a slight pain in my chest. I thought I should consult my doctor, but I decided to wait. After a few days the pain went away. It reminded me of a visit to Dr. Ben Thomas’ office a while back when I had a similar pain.

“Bob, how old are you?” he asked.

“I’m 50,” I replied.

“If you’re 50 and don’t have a pain, now that’s a reason to be concerned.”

Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.