Recently, Dr. Xu of the Department of Anesthesiology encountered a worry: that day, he was performing “intrathecal pump implantation” for the patient. However, halfway through the operation, the patient asked him: Does China have euthanasia?
As someone else asks, this question doesn’t matter? However, the question asked by this patient made Dr. Xu very worried for a time.
This patient’s leiomyosarcoma bone metastases are at an advanced stage. Objectively speaking, the current medical level is almost impossible to cure her tumor. All the doctor can do is to help her prolong her life.
In the advanced stage of cancer, almost all patients face a serious problem – cancer pain.
It can be said that many cancer patients are not defeated by the disease, but mentally defeated first.
Once the spirit collapses, even a million heroes will collapse without a fight, and the body’s functions will decline at an accelerated rate!
She, although the tumor has metastasized to bone, there should be a lot of time to go. However, she seems to have no confidence.
Dr. Xu became extremely anxious during the process of communicating with her about the installation of an analgesic pump. Desires and seems to care less about pain relief. So much so that Dr. Xu took great pains to make a judgment of a pain score of 7-8.
As her oral medication had left her with little appetite, Dr. Xu decided to speed up her intrathecal pump operation.
However, the morning of the operation, she hesitated.
If Dr. Xu hadn’t known how much pain she would face in the future, Dr. Xu might have given up.
The vast majority of patients with advanced tumors die in pain. A large number of analgesic drugs are used, and the gastrointestinal reactions are very serious. If you don’t eat or drink, the tumor takes the opportunity to ravage. In the last few months, most patients can only continue their lives with a drip of sugar water.
Why can only drip sugar water?
On the one hand, the first few months have only been able to survive with IV fluids. However, IV solutions are expensive. Families of terminal cancer patients are almost always in a state of selling their houses and land in the end, and they simply cannot afford the high cost of life extension. Therefore, only a little bit of sugar water.
In addition, the technology also affects parenteral nutrition. Intravenous nutrition, most of which are high-concentration liquids. However, the blood vessels of advanced patients are very bad, and they often “roll the needle”.
Some people say that the anesthesiology department can be asked to indwell a deep venous catheter!
Don’t forget, that catheter is in the hundreds! For terminally ill patients, it may even be difficult for several hundred.
Under the persuasion of Dr. Xu, she finally went to the operating table.
Dr. Xu should communicate with her at any time during the operation. On the one hand, he encouraged her spiritually; on the other hand, he was really afraid of what would happen to the patient? After all, such people are too fragile.
And just like that, in an almost one-sided conversation, the operation continued.
Dr. Xu stopped for a while when she asked if she had been euthanized. At that time, he was really worried that the patients would not cooperate and do stupid things. The operating table is so high, and there is a needle in the back, which falls unimaginably!
Doctor Xu told her with certainty: No! Although she also tried to say that there seemed to be in the province, Dr. Xu firmly denied it.
For life and death, although not forced. However, once this idea is moved, it may really be irreversible. Therefore, Dr. Xu tried to dispel her idea.
In Dr. Xu’s view, although her illness is “incurable”, it is still a long time away from that day. To be precise, there is still a long way to go.
As an anesthesiologist who specializes in pain management, he does not want his patients to beleave in pain.
In addition, when pain is well controlled, people will have spiritual confidence. This is not idealism, it is scientifically based. Emotions can definitely affect the direction of the disease.
She didn’t even say thank you when the hopeful pain pump was finished. For this, Dr. Xu doesn’t blame her. He knew that her psychological trauma was severe.
Dr. Xu will not only continue to follow up on her pain relief in the next few months or even longer, but also help her resolve the knot in her heart.
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