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Deborah D.

When Mrs. Deborah D. learned that her mother had been admitted to the intensive care unit as an emergency case after resuscitation, she was shocked. She and her brother knew that their mother did not want to be intubated and kept artificially in a vegetative state. They were unsure if they had made the right decision. Mrs. D also wondered what her mother might be feeling. Her mother then explained that she had never said that she did not want to be resuscitated, but only that she did not want to be kept alive artificially in case of a vegetative state.

AUDIO

Relatives remember restraints.

Mrs. Deborah D. was uncomfortable to see her mum attached.

Video Interview

TRANSCRIPT

I : How was she tied down? E : With white things around her wrists, tied to the bed, actually. So she couldn't pull out the tubes, basically. I : And how did you feel? E : Horrible. I : At that moment? What do you mean? E : Well, she worked in psychiatry. So I know it was like for crazy people who have to be tied down, as if she was... I don't know, I thought, my God, how awful, she must be in so much pain. Then when I was able to talk to my mom, she immediately said she understood completely, that it was perfectly normal. Because she knows that these things happen during sleep. She worked in psychiatry for years, so there you go. So I thought she must be suffering from it, and I thought, how awful, she already has a tube, and now they're tying her down, how awful. But actually, she was coping with it very, very well. She said no, I found it... I didn't try to... I : Was she tied down for a long time? E : I think more for sleeping, when she was asleep. And then not too long, because in the end we took the tube out, I don't know, three days later or four days, I don't remember the exact days, but no, no. I : So for you it was part of the treatment, part of the game. E : Yes, but at the time it was a bit like that, but they explained it to us, but I just thought, oh dear, poor thing.

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