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Your grandfather is in a nursing home and you are responsible or is medical deci

ID: 448647 • Letter: Y

Question

Your grandfather is in a nursing home and you are responsible or is medical decisions. Formerly a tall, strapping man who spent most of his life engaged in physical labor and was proud of his work ethic and his independent spirit, he has suffered a stroke and lost the use of both legs and one arm and much of the ability to speak. Moreover, the staff must feed him pureed food, and even so his difficulty in swallowing causes him to aspirate small particles of food and drink, which causes frequent episodes of bacterial pneumonia. The nursing home physician poses the medical options listed here. Decide which option is the most ethical and defend your choice with references to the criteria of obligations, moral ideals, and consequences. Have a feeding tube surgically inserted in his throat so that he will not oe required to swallow and thus can be fed without danger of aspirating food. Have the staff continue to offer him food and drink and, when he contracts pneumonia, administer antibiotics intravenously. Hlave the staff continue to offer him food and drink, but withhold anti-biotics when he contracts pneumonia. Have the staff discontinue both food and drink and antibiotics.

Explanation / Answer

Option A will be best answer.

The difficulties in other options are

To offer the food and drink and when he gets pneumonia, to offer anitbiotics is a dangerous option. Offering anbiotics continuously will bring harmful side effects on the body. The body will become bulkier.

To offer food and drink and without giving antibiotics, will get his pneumonia increased to the hazardous levels, that he cannot continue further.

to discontinue food and drink and antibiotics will make his body starve of energy and he will die simultaneously.