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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Dr.
Luke Nelligan speaks at the recent series “Planning Before the Hour of
Our Death,” presented at St. Alphonsus Parish, Zionsville. (Photos by
Katy Harrison Troxell) |
 Dr.
Marian McNamara |
By Katy Harrison Troxell
For
The
Catholic Moment
ZIONSVILLE — Dr. Luke Nelligan, medical director of Seasons Hospice in Indianapolis, uses a passionate and memorable story to illustrate the need to make plans before death.
He shared it as part of a recent five-session seminar on “Planning Before the Hour of Our Death,” held at St. Alphonsus Church:
A 73-year-old mother of five was admitted to a hospital for a heart-related condition. While undergoing surgery, she had a heart attack, and was placed on life support.
Since the surgery had been considered routine, the woman had not asked family or friends to be present. Two of her children were in health care: one a physician and one a nurse. The nurse held her mother’s health care power of attorney. Both she and her physician brother were vacationing at the time of their mother’s surgery.
Another son, a carpenter, arrived at the hospital the next morning to find his mother on a ventilator, with brain injury. The attending physician explained her condition and asked the son to discuss removing her from the ventilator. The hospital knew of no living will.
The son did not feel qualified to make a life or death decision. In time, the physician son was reached and designated to discuss the situation with the rest of the family. After physical examinations, no brain activity was detected, and there was no chance of improvement.
One son wanted to exhaust all possible medical options; two others deferred to their physician brother. He said that their mother had told him several times that she never wanted to be on a ventilator, under any circumstances. His sister agreed, and the ventilator was withdrawn.
The patient, expected to live one hour, lived 15. She died surrounded by her children. The family members were at peace, knowing they had honored their mother’s end-of-life wishes.
Nelligan’s story, told to approximately 200, was captivating, passionate and memorable.
“I lived through this personally, not just professionally,” Dr. Nelligan stated. “That was my mother.”
The somber discussion was meant to encourage people to make end-of-life decisions themselves, instead of leaving them up to family members.
Even though Dr. Nelligan didn’t hold his mother’s power of attorney, he knew what decisions to make simply because “we had discussed this over martinis at the kitchen table back when I was in college,” he said.
A living will and power of attorney will “speak” for a person when he is unable to speak. Dr. Nelligan matter-of-factly told his audience, “Life is a terminal event. We’re all moving on. Written word is very strong; spoken words can be misunderstood.
“If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone here,” he said. “Have enough peace in your heart to discuss your wishes and define what you want and don’t want.”
Also presenting was Dr. Marian McNamara, head of palliative care at Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis. She was a general surgeon who switched to palliative care after a family event turned her life around.
Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that focuses on reducing the severity of disease symptoms and relieving suffering for people facing serious and complex diseases. It does not get in the way of medical treatment.
“I think every physician should discuss end-of-life wishes in routine office visits,” Dr. McNamara said. “Don’t be shocked if after your doctor checks your blood pressure, he asks if you have advance directives.”
A physician cannot terminate treatment unless it is the patient’s wish, she said.
Attendees Herb and Marge Halley are dealing with cancer on both sides of their family. They said they appreciated learning more about hospice.
When asked if they had written advance directives, Marge Halley said, “Yes, but this makes me think I need to read over them again.”
Chris Weintraut is only 34, but he knew the importance of the lecture series.
“This teaches me a great deal and I have other family members to pass the knowledge on to … I’m like the carpenter,” he said.
Knights of Columbus Council 12510 sponsored and organized the series. Topics included Catholic issues; medical issues and decisions; insurance, financial and funeral issues; legal education and structure, and digital legacy.
A DVD of all the sessions is expected to be made available at a later date.