The article “What Broke My Father’s Heart” by Katy Butler is a memoir that describes the deterioration of her father Jeffery along a seven-year span. He was full of life and mentally engaged well into his 70’s until the age of 79 when he suffered a stroke. The stroke left him with considerable problems. Despite his drive and determination to overcome the strokes after effects, he deteriorated. Jeffery told his wife, “I don’t know who I am anymore.” After developing a painful hernia the following year that required surgery to be repaired, Jeffery’s cardiologist requested a preoperative cardiology clearance. The cardiologist stated he would not perform the surgery unless he received a pacemaker for his slow heart rhythm. His wife consented …show more content…
With that being said, it is important for a hospital to respect the wishes of a patient. Throughout this memoir, Katy explained the poor quality of life her father had after the pacemaker was put in. She also expressed the stress and health problems her mother endured from taking care of her father day to day. She stated that after it was discovered that her father had dementia, he was never himself again. She strongly expressed that it was the pacemaker that was keeping him alive. In doing so, it left him and his wife with a poor quality of life. In the end, it was a relief to the family when the father finally passed away. They had a hard time watching her father depreciate mentally, but physically being kept alive due to his pacemaker. Even though the family was depressed and the decision to disable his pacemaker weighed heavily on them, they knew the best thing to do was disable it. That little electronic device extended her father’s life far past his due date. This is an example of modern medicine disrupting with longevity and God’s plan for a comfortable, pain free passing. It is not unusual for family members of critically ill patients to push for aggressive care, even if the medial team feels the treatment is simply prolonging the patient’s passing. But in the end, as tough as it may be, sometimes the right thing to do is say goodbye and put your loved one to rest. Last summer, someone very near and dear to my heart fell very sick after being diagnosed .
