What Happens When Life Support is Removed | End of Life

Sometimes patient's families will decide to take away the life support. Many times I am asked what to expect as we take away life support at the end of a patient's life. In this video, I explain the process of removing life support in the circumstance that a patient's family opts for end of life care.

#endoflife #lifesupport #goalsofcare #advancedirective #deathanddying #palliatvecare #comfortmeasures

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DISCLAIMER:
I am A doctor but I am not YOUR doctor. This video is intended for educational purposes and is not a substitution for medical care and consulting with your own physician.

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[kimpayton]

My Daddy was on life support after a heart attack, they didn't realize when he fell he broke his brain stem. When the ambulance took him to the hospital they took him immediately into surgery and put a place maker in, his heart was fine but he didn't respond to wake up. That is when they realized something else was wrong and they discovered he was brain dead. Our family lives in Florida but our Daddy's family is in Kentucky so we waited for them, we made the decision to remove life support but he lived for 4 more days😢. I was with him until he took his last breath😢🙏. He passed on 4-3-1999 at 7:30 pm, I was holding his hand and told him it was time to go home..i told him i loved him and that i would take care of momma😢. He took one last breath and was gone😢😢. I miss him everyday, i was and always will be "Daddy's girl". I will see them again. RIP Daddy and Momma💓💓, I love you both.

[paulaplanslife]

The only person I witnessed die (taken off life support) was my 5 month old daughter. We knew it was time and our main concern was that she didn't feel anything. She died in our arms and we bathed her afterwards, took hand and foot prints, held her, sang to her. It felt very natural. I wish that I would have been present when my Mom and Grandma passed. As much as you might fear death, there is something comforting about being with them as it happens.

[tomatoenthusiast]

My mother died 3 years ago due to a brain aneurysm, I was 16 and now I’m 19, second year into getting my nursing degree. I’m beyond excited to work in the healthcare field because I just want to help people.
Thank you for sharing this video, it was very informative!

[marcochivas]

This is pretty accurate my sister passed away early this year and it was kind of a peaceful way for her to go but it’ really suck to see her go and not being able to help her like you would wish you could, her heart stop by it’s self before we had to make to disconnect her 😔 RIP LOLA

[davidjuergens]

Thank you for this information. I recently lost my wife as the result of an auto accident. The first week in the ICU, we were talking and it looked like she would recover. Then the second week, things went south. Fluid in the lungs, blood clots, kidney and liver failure. She was put on a ventilator and put into an induced come. By the end of the second week, it was clear this was terminal. She would never wake up again. What amazed me was how quick the process was. They stopped the drips, took out the ventilator. I held her hand, and I talked about some good memories we shared. I sat there watching the oxygen level drop to zero (that took about a minute), but there was still a heartbeat. Eventually, the heartbeat became weaker and two minutes later there was nothing. I was surprised at how quickly she went (three minutes). But, she didn't gasp for breath and seemed comfortable.

[drsuesslorigan]

This is a beautiful video. I hope that it’s helpful to many. I didn’t know if I could get into direct care for patients. As a secretary in the ICU. I asked the nurse if it was ok to sit with a patient while he/she was taken off life support. The family had decided not to be there. I was allowed. In fact it felt ok that there was someone there other than just direct care staff. It happened quietly and peacefully.
I thanked staff and the patient. I went back to my duties and later got into direct care with patients ♥️♥️

[AbiWinchester]

May 5th, 2022 I was put on life support due to miscommunication. 4mg of Ativan was giving. Stopped breathing in the ER woke up in ICU with a tube down my throat. It took them 3 times to remove it. I'm great from the life support stuff. Trying to get through the mental part of it.

[lauramayer]

My dad was taken off of life support on 12/26/16. The neurologist told us it would be a matter of minutes...He had other plans. He was moved to the ortho ward and past 3 days later. His one wish was for all his grandchildren to be home for the holidays. The last grandchildren flight arrived at 9:30, he passed at 11:00!

[lshepherd]

My sister is on day 5 they removed everything except the IV drip of morphine. She is still here. She responds by opening her eyes when her name is called. I asked the nurse; “if her blood pressure is good, her kidneys are good, heart rate and breathing are steady, what will she die if?” The nurse replied, “Starvation”. If I starved a dog to death I’d be in prison. I really hate not being able to say what I see in the ending of my sister’s life. What I will say is that if even one family member is not on the same accord - listen to them, hear them out and allow others to join in a mature conversation. My sister is fighting for her ice after surviving cardiac arrest, pneumonia following aspiration, serious infections, the list goes on. And I feel her reward is starvation. Very hard to watch. Be open minded in Family conversations, there is no room for self pride in this process. God bless all who are looking for support

[sophieciufo]

My mom ended up in a vegetative state and on life support a few months ago, I noticed tears falling from her eyes only after the decision to take her off life support was made. Even though the chance was slim I still feel like if she was given more time she would’ve pulled through. She was a fighter like no other, and she continued fighting for over half an hour after being taken off life support. She didn’t take her final breath until I told her it was ok, that she didn’t have to suffer anymore, and that I loved her. One final tear fell down her face as she took her final breath. People have recovered from her exact scenario but she would’ve needed more time. I know it’s selfish but I begged for her to be monitored for one more day. I wanted to wait until she had no brain activity or until her heart stopped on its own, so I would at least have the comfort of knowing that there wasn’t a chance of recovery. I knew her better than anyone and she always told me that, and I know damn well she wasn’t ready to go that day, she wanted to keep fighting, and my god did she try. I just turned 17 this month, my dad passed away when I was 10.

[dpberry]

Thank you for this info. It makes it so much easier when people have an idea of what to expect. Thank you for giving of your time, knowledge and kindness to do these videos. Thank you, Doctor. You are awesome.

[PuffleFuzz]

My old teacher is on life support. It’s been a crazy whirlwind of a month. He had meningitis and it was caught early. He still needed sedation. I’m happy to say they’re starting the weaning process on 12-23.

[n.l.b-is-sooooooo-good]

i was with my mom when she died. taking her off life support almost felt like assisted murder.

[stephanyfaycohen]

Many thanks for this video.
GOD bless you and the work that you do

[thehayses]

Thank you for this video. We are facing having to remove my husband's father from life support and I'm trying to help us be prepared and informed about it.

[GuessWho]

Thank you for this video. I have always been wandering if my maternal grandmother died with a slow painful death after being taken off the life support many years ago (I was in another state then). Now I feel relief after watching your video knowing she wasn’t suffering pain upon her death.

[missedanneangel]

My mom died at the beginning of the month. Two doctors told me that she met the criteria for her directive and nurses too. I stayed and watched my mom pass as we slowly took her off life support and put her on hospice meds. It took 8 hours, and because she had been vented or had a BiPAP, she couldn't speak most of the time. Because of her most recent surgery, I couldn't hug her; I just sat there crying by the bed, feeling terrible for making the decision my mom wanted. She died of sepsis and cancer with surgery that only had a 30 percent recovery rate.

[TheIntenseMD]

There are typically many questions around the process of removing life support at the end of life. I hope this video sheds some light on what to expect. Thank you for watching!

[manni]

Thank you for posting this video. It really answered alot of questions that the hospital staff haven't answered for me about my mother. Thank you again.

[PrettyPlainMochaChix]

My sister died 3/7/23 …. She had Covid which landed her in the ICU for almost 3 months. She was on a vent but was weened down to a trach, she was initially on 5 pressers but weened down to 1, continual dialysis due the kidney failure. She was eventually moved to a “long term care facility were she instantly started declining. After realizing her body couldn’t recover; I had them stop the IV drip (presser) so that her heart would stop, I requested to keep the vent going, after she started twitching a bit during the process I requested morphine & anxiety meds. I failed to mention that she was none responsive & I believe paralyzed so the twitching had me 2nd guessing my decision. My last living sister. I didn’t want her to pass alone so her husband & I stayed so she wouldn’t die alone.