“But She’s Only 56 Years Old!” exclaimed the doctor.
I had just told him that my wife’s wishes are Do Not Resuscitate, and I requested just comfort measures in the ER. I described the many years of chronic pain that she suffered for more than a decade.
My wife is one of many civilian casualties in the war on drugs.
As activity on my wife continued (vital signs, full body CT scan, blood tests, health insurance network and benefits), I pondered the doctor’s comment. How old should a patient be for a doctor to not respond that way? What’s the implicit minimum age requirement for a DNR?
My guess is if a person has reached the life expectancy for his or her demographic, the request would draw little reaction.
“But she’s only 82 Years Old!”1 would be a strange response to a DNR order, for example. But why? Do we think it’s a waste of time and effort to take heroic measures if she’s supposed to be dead about now anyway? No, that’s not it. What matters more is the likelihood of an 82 year old woman surviving the procedure.
A decision on life-saving measures could be made based on the patient’s Apparent Age, or how old a patient looks. If a patient appears to be 10 or more years older than he or she really is, it’s likely that it indicates poor health.2 So if my wife looked 66, perhaps the doctor wouldn’t have reacted with such conviction.
1 Life expectancy for a woman living in the USA is about 82 according to https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/
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