Others May Learn From Her Predicament

My husband and I want to thank you for printing the sad story about Vivian Coyle’s predicament in the (Dianne Klein) column, “Dying in Dignity No Longer an Option,” March 31. We reviewed our signed and notarized “Durable Powers of Attorney.” There is a section on Page 3 for “other or additional statements or desires, special provisions, or limitations.” We have added that “no hydration therapy, no injections, or I.V.S. to support or add comfort (except specifically for pain suppression) are allowed to be given to me.”

We realized that poor Vivian had been given an I.V. for hydration and that it usually contains glucose along with water, which is what kept her alive. By injecting life-giving solutions, paramedics, doctors and lawyers are making it impossible for humans to die of natural causes.

Your column forced us to take a closer look at the wording and see what it didn’t spell out as to specific treatment. At the time of Vivian’s stroke, was she given hydration therapy by the paramedics or did the doctor start it in the hospital? You also said that one doctor ordered a feeding tube inserted--was it? If so, that might have given her enough food to also keep her alive!

We went on an 83-day trip in our car last year and carried our “Durable Powers of Attorney” with us. We knew that if either one of us became ill or was in an accident, that our caretakers wouldn’t be aware that we had signed such a document. We were aware also that not all hospitals in the United States and Canada honor such a document; however, the papers have family names and addresses and hopefully, should there have been a problem, they would have been contacted.

Please give our condolences to Barbara Morgan and other members of Vivian’s family.

Donalda and Harry Alder,

Garden Grove