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RE: My Sister’s Journey with COPD
Thank you @jennsky, I forgot to add an update at the end. Karlene is still going. The doctor had a talk with us, and she will likely be sedated soon. We are hoping she can hold out until after her 40th birthday in mid September. We have been advised that if she is still alive at christmas time, she will likely be in an induced coma.
I am in hospital today, There is no such thing as COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Its just a basket they throw emphysema, chronic bronchitis, respiratory disorders, etc into. I just had another full CT scan on my lungs Monday. This story doesn't make sense to me. Whats with the morphine, not on oxygen, which has no effect on age. COPD gets you steroids, the good ones, that athletes cannot have, not downers, that would be counter productive. You do not go into coma, you die because your lungs fail at getting enough oxygen to keep your heart pumping. Thats the lungs job, exchange of blood gases. Maybe your friend has something else.
https://steemit.com/life/@jennsky/these-young-nurses-just-can-t-figure-it-out
The New Zealand government has been making big funding cuts to the New Zealand health budget. One of the results is that they won't provide oxygen to any long term patients under age 50, for any more than 13 weeks. Once the patient reaches Stage 4 (of any illness), they are no longer entitled to any oxygen at all. The government provides morphine as a supplement.
Karlene is given Prednisone for 2-3 weeks every 3 months, alongside the morphine. She also has an inhaler, and a nebulizer.
The morphine is already at the maximum dose the government will allow. Therefore, the doctors will INDUCE the coma, so Karlene doesn't suffer through the final parts of her COPD. This is based on Karlene's own request to be kept comfortable at the end.
If you have access to Facebook, Karlene can be contacted on her support page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/543682275771871
Karlene may be able to explain it a bit better than I can. To me, some of the Ministry of Health's policies don't seem to make sense.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Its sad. People die from lack of funding. They can't afford the treatment they need. Its sad.