Health knowledge made personal
 PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweeklyran a show yesterday about an ethical dilemma in the care of patients with Alzheimer’s. "After a certain point, should an Alzheimer’s patient be kept alive with a feeding tube? Many family members say, of course: they should do everything possible to prolong a loved one’s life. But some doctors say inserting a feeding tube is inhumane, because it can just prolong a vegetative state for years."One family member of an African American patient explains that if he had to make the decision again, he would still have the tube put in. "That’s right. If you believe in God, a miracle might happen. But I just don’t think it’s right, you know, to choose whether a person lives or dies." Another patient's family member explained that at one point "the doctors and nurses and even other family members were like, 'You need to turn it off and let her go,' etc., etc. That is just not — wasn’t an option. We are a religious family. My belief is in God and that we are all in his hands." The patient's doctor, Doug Nelson, explains that "it’s always out of guilt . . . that they’re not doing everything that they could for their loved one." Dr. Nelson is concerned that he is sinning by continuing to ordering feeding tubes. "I always wonder what will happen when I get to heaven and I’m confronted by God: 'Why did you keep signing your name to that if you thought it was wrong?'" But Dr. Nelson feels he has no choice since his "malpractice insurance companies tell us if they do that, you put it in because if you don’t, patient dies, you go to court, you’ll lose in court."
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