NEW YORK TIMES: …But contrary to popular belief, a feeding tube does not prolong life in a patient with dementia. It actually increases suffering. A stomach full of mechanically pumped artificial calories puts pressure on an already fragile digestive system, increasing the chance of pushing stomach contents up into the lungs. And surgically implanted tubes are a setup for complications: dislodgments, bleeding and infections that can result in pain, hospital admissions and the use of arm restraints in already confused patients. But maybe most important, the medicalization of food deprives the dying of some of the last remnants of the human experience: taste, smell, touch and connection to loved ones.
So why do so many demented patients die with feeding tubes?
Food is how we know best to care for one another, from breast to deathbed. And thus it runs contrary to every impulse we have as humans to stop feedings. As a dying person becomes unable to process food on her own, our tendency is to plug life into her with a tube pumping artificial nutrition… (more)
EDITOR: When we visited terminally ill friends in hospitals or hospice, we bring a Frostee from Wendy’s. When they won’t accept anything else, they will eat this cool, easy to swallow, tasty dessert. For those we visit, it is often their last meal.
