The Right Thing
Abstract
The Right Thing Frederick Nenner N athan, a third-year medical student on his ï¬rst hospital rotation is at the patientâs bed side. He is holding her limp hand in his hands and looking at her suffering; he can only imagine how she must be suffering. The patientâs eyes are glazed and unfocused. She no longer can see what is to be seen. Her breathing is heavy, labored. Her skin is ashen. Jamie is dying and he is with her. The medical team is gathered in front of the patientâs room with the family who are insisting that their dying sister be placed on a respirator. The critical care attending explains why that should not happen. They are angry and unconvinced. A stat call is made for the consultant from the Ethics Committee to provide guidance and mediate. In this community hospital, where the Committee is involved in the removal of life support, a stat call is an unusual occurrence. Jamie was diagnosed with stage IV uterine cancer at the age of 38 with metastasis to the liver, bone, and brain. She told the oncologist she had too much to live for and was too young to die. The