Last week my very frail and increasingly confused 94 year old father had a fall and was admitted to Stoke Mandeville hospital . My father's physical and mental capacity has declined rapidly in the past year and if nature had been allowed to take it's course it is probable that he would have passed away relatively quickly and peacefullly. As it is, without consulting his family he was shunted to High Wycombe where a pacemaker was inserted and then deposited back to Stoke Mandeville. The first I knew of it was when I got a call from High Wycombe telling me he was on his way back. Since then my father has gone from bad to worse. He is now in a nursing home, in great distress, confused with sleepless nights and no quality of life. I wish the cardiologist who inserted this device could have sat with me in the nursing home as I spent two nights with my father waking every 15 minutes distressed and obsessively asking for his bottle as he can no longer walk to the lavatory. I wish he could experience the misery of a loving family whose only concern is the alleviation of suffering for a beloved husband and father. This kind of intervention is wonderful for some but for others like my father I think it is cruel and inhuman.
"Fitting pacemakers"
About: Wycombe Hospital / Cardiology Wycombe Hospital Cardiology HP11 2TT
Posted via nhs.uk
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