What is Life Support?

My uncle was in a fatal car crash a couple days ago. It is unclear the cause of the accident but he is not doing very well. His girlfriend was in the car with him and the SUV that struck them made more of an impact on his side (he was driving). He is now on life support. He has been dealing with doctors for most of his life due to a genetic disease. I pray that he makes it through. I heard that within 72 hours his parents have to make a decision as to whether or not they should pull the plug or not. I really hope that they give him a chance to try and make it. I heard he has broken ribs, a broken femur and his pelvis was either shattered or fractured. I want him to make a full recovery but right now he is unresponsive. I love him and I don't want him to go like this. Any prayer is a great prayer and a helpful prayer. I'd really appreciate it, thank you.

Always talk to your loved ones, even if they are in a coma. When I was 24 and delivered my son my uteras (sp) collapsed and I was clinically dead for around 10 mins and had an out-of-body experience. I could see and hear, from above, the nurse and dr reviving me. Later in a conv with the Dr when I recalled what was said and done during the time I was out, he was shocked. I have always talked to loved ones who were in comas before they passed. Sometimes I saw tears or a squeeze on my hand. No doubt they could hear me.

I spent 21days on life support. I had H1N1 flu and pneumonia. Without being placed on life support I would not have survived.

I didn't know I was on life support until five weeks later when my family told me. But after six weeks of recovery in medical facilities and a couple more at home, I am back to work and enjoying life with my grandkids.

My friend Eric is in a medically induced coma after he suffered a heart attack that's speculated to be from substance related circumstances. Trying to look everywhere for hope on chance of recovery (I think my friend is the same Eric anon60620 mentioned. I guess all his friends must be researching the same information, so if they see this, please know I am praying for him -- praying hard!), I have heard the doctors said it doesn't look good.

I still have hope, though. There have been other people in my life that have come through states of coma (either medical or brought on by an overdose) and for one of them, it was three weeks later. The other came out of it three months later.

I'm praying for him and his family and loved ones, and also praying nobody makes any hasty decisions. I'm not sure, but I think in a medically induced coma, the doctors are the ones who decide when to bring you out of a coma when they think you're ready, right? It's not the kind of coma where you either come out of it naturally or stay a vegetable.

I want him to pull through, and all those who love him want him to pull through. I know we'd all be willing to wait as long as he needs -- a week, a month, a year. I pray nobody pulls the plug, that they give him a chance to make it through.

He's a good person, so full of life and laughter and kindness. He's loved by many. All my heart and love and prayers and positive thoughts, every ounce of my soul I'm sending out to him and those around him.

I had a cardiac arrest and had CPR before I was finally put on total life support ecmo with IV cooling. All this happened in April 2013 and I was on life support for 10 days and able to pull through.

All my organs like my kidney and liver, which had failed, came back and I am now fine without any residual effects. Ecmo life support gave me a second chance and indeed, miracles do happen.

I don't know how old these posts are, but if this helps anyone now or in the future, I'm happy to share my story.

In February 2013, I was experiencing seizure like activity, and I was admitted to the ICU where they monitored me. I have brain malformations, one of which has hemorrhaged three times. After an EEG, CT and NOT, they declared me stable enough to go to a regular floor and shortly after I was released with some anti-seizure meds -- after telling me I do not have epilepsy. Fast forward a little less than a month. I had the same "episodes" during lunch with my co-workers. They called 911 because the seizures continued one right after the other. The EMS techs started an IV. Before they reached the hospital, I remembered hearing one of them say, "I've given her 10 of valium and she's not responding." My last conscious memory was being rushed into the emergency department. Apparently, the valium had not worked because I was still having multiple episodes and the ER staff also gave me an anti-seizure med, but I don't know what it was. I am a small 27 year old female.

After all the sedation meds settled, I was no longer able to breathe on my own and they had to put me on life support for four days. During that time I only remember one instance of contact, although I now know I was visited every day by my family. On life support, there is no night and there is no day. It's endless, but you're not lost. That one semi-conscious experience I had was a nurse asking a friend of mine if he was my husband, and he said no so she proceeded to move down the list of possibilities: brother? No. boyfriend? No. She said, “Sir I have to know why you're here,” to which he responded, "because she's my friend and I love her." At that point I knew he was holding my hand. It all faded so fast and it felt like a dream. I had to ask if that really happened.

The rest of my time in limbo was calm. I didn't feel any sort of emotion. The only time I felt emotion was when they were weaning me off the sedation and I could feel the tube in the back of my throat. I was too weak to open my eyes to actually understand what was happening and I thrashed within my mind, begging my arms to remove whatever was choking me. I kept thinking, I'm going to die! Why are they killing me? I didn't realize I wasn't still in the ambulance and the people I'd eventually see were complete strangers other than my mom, who, in fact, casually informed me of the date. Just a tip: take precaution when divulging that load of unprocessed mess! She's lucky I couldn't yell because I wanted to give her a mouthful of unpleasantness. I'm usually mild mannered so I don't know if that was due to the meds or a combination of that and coming to terms with the time I've missed.

I was thinking my kids must have been terrified, but I was comforted to know they were told I was on vacation. They're still very little.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone searching for answers. It's a very emotional ordeal on both ends of the spectrum (upon awareness), so remember that it is OK to talk to someone who can offer their professional assistance. Support, love and sometimes space are necessities in situations like this.

My family came every day but it was painful for them. They needed time to allow the events that transpired to process as well. It's hard to do that when the person you love is motionless right in front of you.

My ex-husband was visiting his mother in ICU because she had a stroke and wasn't expected to pull through. In the meantime, he had a heart attack and was put on life support. His step-brother felt the need to "pull the plug" after 24 hours. He expired ten minutes after being disconnected.

Needless to say, his mother died after she saw him in ICU. I was not there and this is what I have been told. I think his step brother killed him. Why did the hospital give him the authority to make a life or death decision? There were no documents giving him authority to decide!

My mother smoked throughout her youth because that was the norm back in her time. She was diagnosed with a lung problem so she quit smoking to not further complicate it. She then started using oxygen tanks for many years. She tripped over a rug though, and sliced the skin around her leg.

To make sure no infection started, she was taken to a hospital, stitched up and prescribed an antibiotic called cephalexin. She began getting diarrhea and we thought it was normal because of the antibiotic. My family and I went on vacation for three days. During that time I called in and checked to see how she was doing. She did not sound so good.

I left my vacation early to go see her. When I got there, she was waiting for death. There was diarrhea everywhere, and she could hardly move. She was yellow in the face, her stomach was really big, and when I touched her she was screaming in pain.

We rushed her to the hospital again and the doctors said the antibiotic caused colitis due to Clostridium Dificile. They said her colon was dead, and thus it needed removal.

After the removal of her colon, she was monitored closely in the intensive care center. They had her all strapped up with the feeding tube, with the air tube and all the monitors. I got another call and they said her heartbeat was fluctuating and not stabilizing. She never had any heart problems before.

The next day I got another call, and they said her blood did not seem right. Now they say she has developed leukemia. Its amazing how one cut can lead to so much. I am really saddened to watch her on life support. She is just sitting there. I hope nothing else goes wrong. I love you mom. Don't leave me.

It helped to read about that who patient didn't know they were on life support or feel pain over that week, and thank God, they recovered.

We are looking for answers like that, and please reply if you know where I can get answers to: (1) How can tear(s) roll down the cheek of someone on life support (who doctors say has irreversible brain damage based on one MRI); how can they not only hear our words/crying, but process it, get emotional and connect thoughts to produce tears?

(2) What could a doctor see on an MRI that changed the prognosis from a good chance for recovery from a brain injury/skull fracture caused by an auto accident, to no chance his brain could recover? Can't time and a miracle give him a chance?

(3) What reason would doctors have to rush taking a patient off life support the day after that mri?

(4) Is being an organ donor a reason to not give a patient more time to heal or receive a miracle? What other reasons would there be for doctors not to give someone at least one more day, for a chance to receive a miracle?

I really don't know anything of life support but it was sad to hear every story!

But just think that the people who passed away are in a better life!

I Live in Mansfield, Ohio. I had a cousin who was roofied in New York. When they found her she was already dead. She had just had a baby six weeks before this. No one has found her killer. She was on life support and they said she was brain dead.

I am doing a paper on life support and I found something that made me question if the doctors really know if the patient is brain dead. I found out that there was a mother who they had said was brain dead and wouldn't survive after life support. So she donated his organs. Later she contacted someone in England and found out that her son could feel them cutting him and taking his organs out of him and that is why his blood pressure went up. She asked the team that did it, if they had put him under anesthetic, and they said no. I also found that if the patient can react to some kind of pain, they are not brain dead!

My cousin reacted to just my sister talking to her and begging her to pull through. She cried! But yet the doctors said she was brain dead.

I believe that it is your choice in life to decide whether you should be take off or stay on. And if you can't choose, it is for your loved ones to choose what is best for you.

My father was put on life support today at 6:30 p.m. in Tampa, Florida. I live in Columbus, Ohio, so I have been talking to my mother on the phone about how he is doing.

He had a massive heart attack and my mom said he will be brain dead if he comes out of it. He has four boys and five grandchildren and he is only 49 years old. My mom said he has said he has been saying he had a headache for the last four days and then he said he was OK.

Today he got through helping her clean the house and then he sat down for a minute and told her to call 911. They pumped his chest for 20 minutes until they got him back and did it again once he got to the ER before they put him on life support. Now he hasn't made any improvement at all.

She said if he gets took off life support he will die. His name is Robert. Please, anybody out there, pray for him to live and not be brain dead, I beg of you. Thank you so very much.

I am doing a study about life after life support. Please, those who have experienced it can you share something about: How has your life been after the experience? What are the major changes you've made after the experience. How's your self esteem now? How do you view life after the experience? Thanks very much.

My name is Immaculate and I have a dear friend called Emily, who is fighting a battle in a hospital between life and death.

She is a former alcoholic and this has affected her health to a point of no return. Her organs are failing and she's currently on life support in intensive care unit in a London hospital. She has a 5 year old son and I believe it's not over until God says it's over. Everyone deserves a second chance and if this is the ultimate test and cross for, I pray to Jesus through the intercession of our lady that she gets healing to start a new clean life for her son. May the blood of Jesus cover her. Please pray for her. Amen!

My mum's friend is on life support after suffering bleeding on the brain. The doctors have pronounced her brain dead but while praying with her I noticed tears rolling down her face. Is this possible considering doctors say she is brain dead?

Please pray for my aunt who has pancreatic cancer.

She had several seizures on today and is now on life support.

My boyfriend, who is 48, was rushed to the hospital after collapsing from working on a deck; the ED said his spleen ruptured slightly (found dried blood)and gave him 2 quarts of blood and said would keep him overnight in case it burst (if it did, they would take him into surgery and remove it). Well, at 4:30 a.m. it did, and he coded. It took the entire hospital staff 45 minutes to bring him back. His surgeon said he will probably have brain damage if he survives.

He went into surgery for two hours. His surgeon took one gallon of blood from his stomach which was from the ruptured spleen and removed his spleen. He was on life support for four days and heavily sedated.

His blood pressure was extremely high -- couldn't get under control. The second day on life support he went into kidney failure -- miraculously through medication, his kidneys responded. He was in the hospital for three weeks with one thing after the other.

He has been out of the hospital for three and a half months and is still dealing with a cluster of blood clots in his arm from a pic line and is on 9 mgs. of blood thinner meds. He doesn't have any brain damage, which is a miracle, and will be on high blood pressure medication for the remainder of his life. His surgeon said "he just didn't want to die," and is amazed that he has no brain damage.

He had everyone praying for him, so I do believe in the power of prayer even though I'm not a religious person. So, please believe in miracles, they do happen!

My brother was in a terrible accident seven days ago today. He was ejected from the vehicle after flipping. He lay there for at least 20 or 30 minutes, we have figured, before someone found him and he held on. Life flight took him to a trauma unit and he has been on life support ever since.

His body has multiple injuries and the biggest obstacle is his brain damage. He had no reflexes at all when he first arrived but now gags occasionally and has moved his foot slightly once when it was being tickled. However, the last I have heard from the neurosurgeon was that the swelling was severe in his brain and there was minimal brain activity. If he did ever wake up he would probably not know who we are and there is a huge possibility he would not be able to function on his own.

Since we were told this, there have been tiny signs of improvement with the rest of his body, but I know there is still a long way to go in the healing process. I don't know what to think. We were basically given no hope and yet there have been a few signs of healing. He definitely hasn't gotten any worse, however, they haven't done another cat scan on his brain for five days. Does this mean they already feel like it's hopeless?

I want to give my brother time but I also don't want to be selfish and I don't know if my step-mom has been presented with her options but if she hasn't she hasn't shared that with us. I'm worried she may be in denial or maybe I'm completely off.

I just know my brother wouldn't want to continue to live this way unless there was hope of him recovering from this. He a daughter getting ready to turn a year old in a couple days and we are all just beside ourselves. Please any thoughts feel free to share.

My father had a heart attack three days ago. He is on life support and I feel so confused about everything. The doctors say it doesn't look good but I know my dad and he is strong and can beat this. My family was ready to stop life support today but I feel like it's way too early.

After reading some of these stories, I am going to voice that we give him at least a week. So I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for sharing your stories. I sure do love that man.

My brother, 37, was in a car accident with a semi about five months ago. They had to use the jaws of life to pull him out. He spent nine days in the hospital on life support, the worst nine days of my life. All the doctors and neurosurgeons didn't give him any hope and said the injury and swelling did too much damage. They did a craniotomy, but it wasn't successful and they said it just prolonged what would have happened if he didn't have the procedure: brain death.

He never regained consciousness in the hospital, every time they took him out of the induced coma he seized up so they had to medically induce a coma again.

We as a family had to make the decision to pull him off life support and we'll all live forever with the what ifs. But I know, as athletic and vital as he was, that he would not have wanted us to keep him hooked to machines till he died.

I just hope there is a life after death.

Do hospitals put a limit on life support? I'm trying to write a story about someone who is in a coma, but how long does the hospital keep these people on life support?

my friend was just in a motorcycle accident and is practically brain dead. he is on life support. the only thing that is working on his own is his heart. he has the biggest heart i know an needs anyone and everyone's support.

Life is a gift. There is always hope. Jesus took 39 stripes so we could be healed.

I lost my husband two months ago and he was on life support. I had to make the decision to take him off of it. I didn't want him to be a vegetable and he wouldn't have wanted it. All the doctors involved said there was absolutely no hope and he had a 104 fever and a heart attack after being on life support for 1 1/2 weeks.

We watched him continue to get worse and then had to decide to let him go so he would be in a better place. I would have traded places with him if I could. But I couldn't be selfish and keep him in a vegatative state for myself. I had to put his wishes in front of my own.

If you see there's no hope and their condition worsening, then you have to let them go as not to suffer anymore. You must allow them to go and tell them so. They say the last thing to go is their hearing. So I told him over and over how much I loved him and gave him permission to go that I would be OK.

I feel a peacefulness around me now as his body is gone but he's in my heart forever and no longer has to suffer. That is the greatest gift you can give your loved ones: unselfishness!

My grandad found out he had bowel cancer last christmas, but kept it to himself because he didn't want us knowing when we were meant to be happy. He soon told us after christmas and went for some tests done. I haven't spoken to him and my nan for seven years because of a silly argument, but I went round straight away.

The doctors said it hasn't spread and a routine key hold procedure could be done. I spent a few days with my grandad catching up, laughing about old times. The morning of the op they decided it was going to be an open operation because they physically couldn't do key hole, and he rang my nan crying, scared.

All day we waited to see when we could go visit him, but got an unexpected call saying there had been complications and he was in ICU on life support. He had two heart attacks, and his bowel cancer had spread dramatically but they said we should try talking to him because he would come around. So I sang to him. He was a singer and we used to sing together when I was a little girl. And so he opened his eyes. They were rolling back and not too focused but my heart was so lifted and happy.

Five days of false hope. He turned out to have had a severe stroke and was declared brain dead. I was the only grandchild there because I am the eldest and got ruled out by my aunts and uncle. I think he should have had time and I wish we had gotten a second opinion.

One of the days when I visited him, (as I only left him at night time) one of his machines were beeping and no nurses came to see him. I had to shout for a nurse before they did anything. Luckily it wasn't an important machine, but how many times had that happened? And had they possibly overlooked an important one when I wasn't there? When they took the ventilator out, his eyes opened, not focused, but coincidentally were looking straight at me. I will never forget that moment in my life, and even today, five weeks later I remember it like it was yesterday.

Please, just give your relatives time, get a second opinion. Do something. Miracles do exist, just believe. And pray for those who are not given the choice to let their loved ones live on, because trust me, my heart aches every day. I love you and I'm so sorry.

My father is also on life support. please remember him in your prayers.

Very informative. I think it's a difficult decision in some cases. My older brother is on a ventilator now because his cancer progressed so rapidly and I am not sure how long he will last. This was a last resort, but glad it worked out for some people here.

I went to the ER in early January for what I thought would be antibiotics for a skin infection. The nurse took one look, got the doctor and within a few hours, I was in emergency surgery for MRSA (flesh eating disease) which moves very fast. They were able to remove all the infection which in another day would have been into my organs.

The last thing I remember is being wheeled to surgery and then waking up confused about where I was with my family looking at me with big smiles on their face. Turns out after surgery, I would not wake up and had ended up on life support with tubes in my mouth, nose and neck, IVs up and down my arms. I found out I had been on life support a week. The doctors had told my husband they hoped I was a fighter because I was dying. My blood pressure was dropping and my kidneys had started to fail.

I don't remember any of this. I was not in any pain and do not remember any dreams or anything else except for one memory of standing, looking over rolling hills with a white building with columns like the houses in gone with the wind. There was a brilliant sunshine but no sun in the sky. It was unlike any sunlight I had ever seen -- just a wonderful beautiful glowing.

The thing I remember most though was sensing hundreds of people near me although I could not see them. I felt them, including my parents who both died from cancer. I could not see anyone but I knew they were near and there was such a deep feeling of pure love and peace. It was like I was looking into a big picture window but could not step through.

I heard a voice, not with my ears but just a voice like thoughts saying I could not go in yet because my daughter needed me. My family told me that I had woken up after a week refused to believe I was in a hospital, got angry and started pulling out my tubes saying I wanted to "stay home" and started pleading for them to let me go back home. I vaguely remember this in bits and pieces. They sedated me to stop me from pulling out the tubes. When they allowed me to wake up again I was confused, with the image of that beautiful white building and the hills and trees in my mind. I looked at my husband grinning at me and asked, "Did we just go to a movie?"

Now I have been in nursing rehab on a wound vac and gaining strength to stand and walk again after a week of not standing. I am now able to walk so my ins said I need to go home and have a home nurse to finish recovering. I am just grateful to be alive. But to those wondering if it is painful on life support, in my experience, there was no pain or awareness that I was on it, at least on a conscious level

one of my family friends just had a heart attack. he then went into a coma for the last few days.

i read some stories about people who experienced a coma and they said they woke up from their families talking loudly in the room from time to time, but this doesn't work for every case out there.

they might pull the plug on him and i disagree with this. people should give their loved ones a chance to live.

a work friend was rushed into hospital on new year's eve with double pneumonia and suspected swine flu. he has been but in a coma and is on life support. all his friends at work are praying he will pull through.

I have to know: if life support is removed and then the family changes their minds, can it be put back in use? I have someone who is saying this has happened to her friend and I really am having a hard time believing this is possible.

My aunt is on life support due to cancer. I just found out my cousin is going to pull the plug. I don't know how to feel about it. I don't want her to suffer anymore but I don't want her to die. This situation is so hard for my family.

My boyfriend is 15 and he got into a car accident in august and is still injured. Some places in his spine were broken of from around the middle of his back down to his tail bone. He also has a bad heart. Some air got into the surrounding muscles around his heart and caused them to tighten and hurt his heart i guess.

Today he went to the doctor and he overheard his mother and the doctor talking and saying that he needed life support for his back, head, and heart.

i really don't understand what this means so if someone could help me understand this it would help me out a lot. I'm really worried about him.

my aunt just had a stroke today and is on life support. i believe in god and know she will be o.k. please keep her in prayer.

My grandma is currently on life support with cancer and there's nothing to help her anymore. The more we do, the worse it gets, so my parents are about to pull the plug soon because it's painful to watch her try to speak and go from that to unresponsive in just three days.

The only reason she's still on life support is so that we have enough time to plan an open casket funeral for her. It's very painful for everyone though. We have people crying every day.

I think it depends on if they are being helped to stay alive while their body recovers, or if they are being artificially sustained when their injuries/ illnesses mean they aught to have died already as to whether or not life support is a good thing. if it is a treatment method taking a load off the body to help recovery then i think it is good and useful. otherwise, the doctors and families have to be really sure there is a good chance of recovery for it to be morally OK.

or at least, that's what i think.

My uncle, who is also my father, best friend, and my everything, has been in a coma/life support for an entire month. The head of the icu told me(my uncle's health care proxy) that they have done every procedure possible known to science and that he will not come out of that coma.

Mind you that my uncle has been a fighter all his life (health wise). But I'm realistic. His time has come. But his kids are angry with that decision and want to keep fighting. Please somebody help me. What should i do? There is nothing else to try on him. Please help me. All suggestions and advice are welcome. Help!

I worked for this guy. He went in the hospital for surgery a couple weeks ago. He developed complications from it and ended up in the hospital again. Well this morning he coded and they brought him back which left him on life support.

This should never had happened. He wasn't that bad when he went in the hospital the first time. Please pray for him. He's a really great guy. Thank you.

I am 16 years old with an 11 year old brother and a six year old sister. My mom went into the hospital. They diagnosed her with kidney stones. Well, she passed one but the other was blocking her kidney. And the medicine they gave her to help pass the kidney stone shut down her other kidney. So she went in for a second time because she was hurting so bad.

They told her in the ER she had the flu. They gave her this medicine and fluids, but since her kidney was blocked she got an infection. And when they gave her the medicine for the flu it allowed the bacteria to be flushed through her blood stream which spread throughout her whole body.

They keep misdiagnosing her and not making a dent in the infection. Well, it is a bacteria related to Septic shock, which means low blood pressure and her beats per minute is over 200. Her kidneys shut down and yesterday her liver. They had her on dialysis.

Now today, since more of her vital organs are tired she needs help for a few days to maintain at a certain rate. Please pray for my mom. She will only be 35 in two days. She has three kids and her family to worry about. We can't lose her. Please pray.

my mom is 89 and had a mini heart attack without even knowing about it. she decided to have open heart surgery triple bypass and repair the valve. she is on the ventilator. I know they put a trach in her so she can breathe easier to get her off the breathing machine to put in a defibrillator. She was working four days a week until this happened. she is strong willed. please pray for her. she wanted this surgery. she said she wanted to live.

One of my best friends of over a year has a mother who is sadly on life support. I heard that life support is very bad news. I hope she'll be able to survive so she can live forever. It's just so sad. I'm going to be 21 in December and hope she'll be alive to see me on my 21st. I can't believe it's happening to one of my best friends! How could this happen to her?!

-Written by a 20 year old who really cares about this family deeply

My uncle, who is not even 50 years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumor three months ago and it was found to be malignant. The doctors gave up hope and refused to treat him further at the cornell hospital in NY. He is now on life support in another hospital.

He has a son who is studying in :ondon who was refused a visa twice because they did not believe his father was sick so he can't even visit his dying father in new york! We are a very tight-knit family and this is affecting all of us. My 80 year old grandmother will not be able to survive watching one of her sons passing away.

i have read so many great survival stories that i still have hope this can be one too.

my friend got into a car accident and isn't doing well at all he is going to be 17 next month. he is in a coma and was just taken off life support the other day. he is getting stronger but the doctors say he could either be paralyzed or brain dead or both. please pray for him. his name is dyllan.

i have a sis in law who is 17 and she isn't doing so good. she overdosed or it was an accident. she had a fever. they tried to take the machine off but she wasn't responding. Why is that? they put her back on. She is getting worse and not better. we aren't giving up. we miss her and want her to recover. Please pray for her. Her name is angela.

Please pray for a dear friend who is on life support after a surgery! his name is Lonnie.

My fraternity is currently supporting my pledge brother's family as he was slipped something at a Dallas night club and we found him on the floor unconscious. His urine tested positive for methamphetamine, which is what ecstasy is based off of. they said knowing that he must have been slipped four or five tabs in about 15 minutes. He's in stage 4 trauma and using 70 percent of life support. please keep him in your thoughts. His name is Jesse.

In January, I was told my mother only had one to two years at most. Open heart surgery was too risky, and most likely she would not survive the operation and it would probably not fix the problem.

After sitting in one of corner of her room, my mother decided to have the surgery and put herself in God's hands because she felt like a caged bird these past six months. Mom was always active, independent and a fighter. Two days before her scheduled open heart operation, she got sick and was hospitalized. Mom has been in ICU since May and two weeks ago, she went on life support. She's fighting for her life, but the doctors don't give us any hope.

I want to give her the opportunity to fight her life, but question myself every single second, "i am doing the right thing? I'm selfish? Should I let her go?"

God, send me a sign and guide me in the right direction because in the midst of my own sorrow I cannot think straight, and sitting in the corner of my mother's hospital room is breaking my heart when I see that she is not the one doing the breathing but the machine and all the medications that she's on the ones keeping her here. I am not much of a prayer, I don't even know how to pray, but I do have faith and talk to God a lot. Thank you for allowing me to "vent".

my nephew is in a coma. please pray for him. he's 26.

I was in an auto accident and had already "passed" when the ambulance arrived. They revived me by "bagging me" until Medi-Flight arrived and could put a tube down my throat and continue the assisted breathing.

Once I arrived at a large trauma center, they put me on life support and I was taken off on the fourth day. Was in the hospital for six months with severe brain injury, punctured and collapsed lung, four fractured vertebrae, broken ribs and one punctured lung.

Afterward, I was in full time rehab and was taught how to walk and talk, etc., even had to re-learn who my children, family, and friends are. That was 11 years ago and I have recovered very well. I still have some brain issues and have had to have surgeries on my back. But, if it weren't for life support, I wouldn't be here to enjoy my grandson and my life. I thank God for life support and prayers, prayers, prayers!

I'm doing an essay on the benefits of medical technology and i picked life support machines as one of the life changing advancements. A question for all of the people who have been on life support: has someone survived because they were om life support, or even someone who hasn't survived, could you please help me and give me your views on how life support machines have influenced and helped today's society?

i think people should be kept on life support a little while. there can be miracles. never give up too easily. I'm 20 years old and that's what i believe.

my little boy who is four went on life support one week ago and its the worst feeling in the world.

my grandmother recently was hit by a car. She frctured her pelvis in four different areas and had a collapsed lung. she has gone into a coma and is not expected to make it.

My grandma is 86 and went on life support yesterday. Her her stopped and it took 30 minutes to revive. She did squeeze my hand, move her mouth trying to talk, opened her eyes but they were rolled back. I love her so much and so does my mom. Please pray for her!

I met my boyfriend on msn and got to know him and love him, but the day he was meant to pick me up, his garage roof fell on top of him and he is now on life support.

The doctors say it's a 15 percent chance he won't make it. He might be brain dead or not remember me. I finally get to meet the perfect guy and god takes him, but please pray for him. His name's demetrius.

I will go see him soon and try to help but god can help us. all we need is hope for him to heal.

My Grandpa (age 75) went to the hospital after a week of fever, chills and diarrhea. He went in talking, and asked us to leave because he was tired. Not even half hour later I got a call he had a heart attack and was on full life support and sedated.

He is still on it going on four weeks now, he has MRSA of the lungs and wherever else in his body. They keep giving him pressers, and lots of other meds. They took him off the sedation once and he woke up enough to look around, and get the tube out. He tried talking and smiling, but that night he went back on the respirator. A week later they took him off again and he made no attempt to wake up or anything, so they put him back on.

His toes are black and dead so they will fall off, and he has four other infections, kidneys failing, liver abscesses, gallbladder problems, and we just got the first report from the day he went into the hospital talking about all these different measurements found in his body, malignancy.

The doctors tell us to be hopeful for a full recovery, but I don't see one coming for him. I just want the truth and not to be told everything will be fine. Any comments or has anyone seen anyone with this actually walk away normal?

My father has cirrhosis and is on life support now, and i am scared! he has pneumonia now, and his kidneys are failing. he isn't brain dead, but his liver is gone completely. he has been on life support for five days now. i have three against the whole family.

i want to give him a fighting chance, but my family doesn't. my mind is saying to let him go because he is suffering, but my heart is saying not to.

my mother is on life support right now. we thought we were going to lose her, but by the grace of god she is getting stronger and stronger every day. have faith in god, everyone who is going through the same situation. i know she will make it! in the name of jesus!

my grandmother is on life support. I'm a medical assistant and I'm learning a lot about the medical field and i feel that life support is a very good thing because i have faith that my grandmother will pull through. Even with the pain she is going through, i know and she knows it is worth it to keep living with her loved ones. please pray for her.

My friend was in an accident yesterday morning. He's only 28 and is on life support. They will take him off tomorrow to see if he can breathe on his own. Please pray for us.

my father was taken off of life support after five days. My siblings voted against me. It was 9 against me. I wanted them to give him more time, that it was too soon to give up on him.

His brain was OK, he was breathing on his own, and blood pressure was stabilized. Then they stopped all his medications, and pulled the respirator, iv, and protein food out.

They thought he was going to go quick, but my father was breathing on his own for 14 hours, his pressure was OK, and was stable, but they still continued whit the morphine shots, or wherever that medicine is, that they said will not let them suffer.

My dad was showing them and the nurses, that they were not god, to take his life away. All of a sudden, a nurse came and gave my dad an injection, and two minutes after that, he doesn't move any more. It was horrible to see him fighting for his life.

Those fourteen hours were the most painful in my life. The old chap taught them a lesson, and I know that if he had been given at least a couple of more days he would be alive.

I lost my mother last year, and my siblings did the same thing to her. For me, I will stay away from my siblings forever. they said I'm selfish because I want to keep him alive, I only think it was too soon.

I believe in faith and miracles. Recovery takes time, and they give up on my dad. Please pray for my kids and me, they said that because i am catholic i am selfish. My dad died a catholic. my siblings became christians two years ago. I love you papito lindo, you will always be in my heart. God forgive them!

my dad has lung cancer. He couldn't breathe properly on monday, he passed out and was without a heart beat for 20 minutes. the doctors revived him.

Since there was no blood or oxygen going to his brain the doctors said he was brain dead.

he's on life support fighting for his life. he's now kind of out-breathing the tube down his throat. I'm pretty sure he can hear us. he looks at us and sometimes i see tears. but he jerks continuously. i pray my dad will come out of this. pray please.

My mother is 79 and on life support for the second time. She had a stroke years ago and has been bedridden since. The doctors have told us to let her go, that she is suffering.

My mother loved life and we know she does not want to leave her children. She still responds with her eyes and knows we are there with her. How can we just take her off life support because the doctors are pressuring us?

Please pray for her.

i have my brother in law fighting cf right now and they just put him on life support four days ago. i think with certain illness or injury you should just stop the fight. if there is no chance to come out and live a full healthy life you should just say good bye and let them be pain free.

My dad is 81 and is on life support. he wanted to be on it so it would give his body and lungs a chance to rest and the infection in his lungs could heal. I know while my father is under he can hear me! I respect others' wishes and I also believe that everyone has a voice.

Don't always let the doctors tell you when. You will have a feeling. I know that my dad will make it out of this fight!

My husband is on life support. he had a massive heart attack. He is 70 and we will be married 50 years. in a couple of months. Please pray for me to make the right decision.

The medical field has done so much with life support. Please thank our savior for all the help that is out there to help so many lives.

I was on life support for nine days, but I am alive and well. I knew everything that was going on and felt pain. I couldn't talk. I have some after effects, as in remembering everything and anxiety. Don't pull the plug.

My grandmother's husband is on life support. I came on this site to find out a little more about it. Quite honestly, I'm terrified. I've never lost someone close to me and i really don't want to. I pray that life support keeps him alive longer than expected. I pray for him constantly.

My son is four months old, and has been on life support since day one. He was born at 25 weeks weighing one pound, four ounces. He is on a ventilator, feeding tube and IV fluids. He opens his eyes and even smiles.

He has very good neurodevelopment, and will undergo a tracheostomy next week so we can continue to ventilate him even when he comes home. If it were not for life support, my son would not be here today.

My uncle is on life support and it's a hard thing to deal with because he is just like a father. They say it can go from good to bad but i'm praying for the good. i'm leaving everything in God's hands.

My friend Liam is on life support because he fell off a bridge while drunk and hit his head. pray for him. i hope he lives. --travis

My son was on life support for two days before test results came stating that he had no blood flow to the brain. He was "brain dead" and we were only keeping his body alive. We could not keep a body here without a soul. So we took him off of the life support. Afterward, a supposed friend of mine said that we "pulled the plug for insurance money."

The only thing I said about money was that it is effed up that we were going to get paid for the death of our son. I would trade all the money in the world to get him back; any parent would know that.

Please pray for my family, as the death of my son was only a year and seven months ago. I am praying for those of you that have requested it. I hope your loved ones survive and I hope that you make it through this difficult period in your lives.

In the event that you have lost a loved one, remember that you can either go up or down. You must try to go up! Find some way to honor your loved one while benefiting others. Donate a picnic table at his/her favorite park. Hold a yearly memorial on his/her birthday as a celebration of his/her life. This will help you hold onto the good memories instead of the bad ones.

Hang in there! It's tough, but you can do it. If your loved one is in a coma and still has brain function, don't give up. Anything is possible. Read his/her favorite kind of book to him/her. Sing him/her a song that means something to him/her. Bring him/her fresh flowers and place them where he/she can smell them.

That's all for now. -Hayden's Mom

the doctor suggested putting my 80 year old mother in law on life support. she fractured her hip and went into a coma soon after. Please pray for her.

I would imagine life support is very expensive but at the time of need hospitals don't worry about the cost. My aunt is being place on life support today and it may give her a third and fourth chance at life.

Please say some prayers for a young man named Eric who was put on life support today. I believe he suffered from a drug overdose and either was put in a coma or was in a coma. Please pray for him and his family. Please Lord, give this young man a new chance at life and guide him. In Jesus's name i ask and pray.

my friend is on life support and in a coma. please pray for her and hope she survives this. she's my best friend in the world. she's only 14 and the doctors doubt she will make it, but with the power of prayer and jesus it could possibly change so please pray. please.

my ex girlfriend is on life support because she stabbed herself and i don't know what to do and i don't want her to go.

i know someone who was on life support because they were in a real bad car accident and thanks to the life support, they're still alive and perfectly fine!

My mother is on life support. The nurse said that her blood pressure was down this morning and she is stable.

i have a auntie that's on life support. she has a lung problems and this is her second tine we are praying that she gets out of it.

my mother is battling stage 4 ovarian cancer. she has been doing better until this last dose. she went into a coma on a Thursday and was put on life support. she woke up on saturday and seems to be stable. i can't imagine anyone having to say they have a family member on life support. thanks to all the people who keep praying. they give us all hope!

My good friend (that I've known for 16 years) is on life support. I'm praying that he comes out of it. Let's just pray. :(!!

I have an old friend on life support. It will be a week on Sunday. I feel so much pain for her husband and her kids. She is only 32 years old and we are the same age. I'm not sure if she believes in God, but I truly do, and we are all praying for her to come out of this. Please keep her in your prayers

i was on life support for 1 week. I'm out of the hospital now and i didn't realize i was on life support until recently. i'm grateful for the doctors for all that they have done. without the staff at the hospital i wouldn't be here. every day i thank the lord and jesus for being with me. the hospital has a palliative team which is helping me by bringing in home care. when your love one is feeling better, ask the doctor if they have a palliative team because there are things that are hard for family members to do. take care and god bless you.

my friend is on life support. he lives in washington. they say he might not make it through the week. :( he is 17 or 18 and he is going to get married to my sister. please keep him in your prayers. :(

this is a very informative website.

my uncle was put on life support on saturday night after suffering from a leak in his anerysum. i'm 21 and i find it hard has he tries to take the tube out i know he feels pain cause there are tears going down his face but is it so wrong to keep him on there even though he don't want to be on life support? and is it also so wrong for the doctors to keep him on there as well, as they won't turn off the switch as they have hope that he is going to make a full recovery but he has also picked up a stomach bug as well and well his not real well at all

My aunt is currently on life support (put on two days ago). She coded and was brought back and I feel like the life support is giving her body a chance to recuperate from all of the strain it's been under. She was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer four months ago and has been taking chemo and radiation. I know that God is the reason she was resuscitated but only he knows why until he reveals it to either my aunt or the family. I definitely support life support. Even if it's only to allow your loved one to know how much he/she is loved and to say final good-byes.

A family member was in a fire and jumped out a 4th floor window and landed head first. And was pronounced brain dead but put on life support. The doctors told the family that there was nothing else they could do. So four days later the doctors tell the family they want to run some tests to see if she would breath on her own well she didn't. R.I.P

My brother coded out on Monday, and put on life support,late Tuesday night he began to breath a little on his own, Wednesday he was out breathing the machine,unfortunately he is not responding. I can believe anything at this point. I was beginning to give up, now I can believe anything can happen. I just keep praying for him and our family.

I was on life support two weeks ago for four days. I am now home and doing better and thankful to have been given a second chance. So never give up hope. Thank you and god bless.

I just found out that yesterday my Aunt was found unresponsive, and put on life support. Im really scared at this point, and I'm just wondering if she will recover enough to be taken off?

My grandmother died on life support, so if it's their time to die.. it's their time.. life support only helps certain things.

Hi, this is a very good article! I am doing a Casual Analysis in my English class about life support, i was wondering how much is life support and to maintain a person on life support? Thank You.

I'm a 16 year old that was was on life support after being drugged. I wouldn't have made it without life support and support it till the end, it gives you a second chance at life and you will never more grateful!

My husband had a stroke. He was put on a life support machine. When putting a person on the life support machine, are they supposed to be awake for the procedure?

If a patient is on life support, how long after they are off it can they actually expect to go home? I know it must be different for each case, but is there a minimum?

i like this article, my papa was on life support but he had no way of living so we took him off and i think that was the best thing for him

My grandfather is on life support and the family has just decided to take him off life support bc the doctors say he has no possibility of survival. I don't know if they should. I just feel what if he would get better? Are we just not giving him enough time? I feel like in some way as though i am letting him die...I just needed to say my thoughts in hope that it will help me in some way.

my great grandma was just taken off of life support and is slowly leaving my 17 year old world it is very difficult to deal with.

my father was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 a few months after my 6th birthday. This past october after 2 relapses and multiple trials with new medicine he went to a hospital with a rehabilitation program after suffering a seizure. On nov. 14 he was put on life support and lived three more days. I am grateful for the extra time because i was in school during the time and wasn't told until 3 hours after the fact. I don't think it is appropriate to keep a person on life support for months or years unless there is a strong belief of survival. for me it allowed my family to say goodbye and let him know how much we love him. Even at 13 (now 14) i know he was using life support until he could say goodbye.

God bless all of you who have lived from life support. I pray that you will get stronger and better this year! How blessed and special you are. God bless you.

Some people get out of a comma and go on living their life, while they’re on life support they cannot respond, so how can you pull the plug on someone who’s still willing to live? im 16.

I feel so bad for families who have (a) member(s) on life support because families tend to lose hope. My friend's father is on life support, and my friend is not himself. It's tragic.

Generally people on life support do not feel pain, as they are heavily sedated and have large amounts of pain relief given to them.

In a lot of cases the medications they are given are exactly the same as the ones given when people are put under a general anaestetic.

My grandfather is now on life support... He made the choice to stay on and now he is able to whisper and feel pain. He fell off a 10 foot latter and broke his neck, making him almost dead from the neck down... God makes miracles!

Im 17 & was rushed into intensive care 4 weeks ago & put on life support & diagnosed with Meningitis (Meningococcol disease & septicemia). I was in hospital for 11 days & came out 2 weeks ago. I've made a speedy recovery but still having problems with my eyesight. I've been extremely lucky & am therefore in total agreement with life support!

i am doing a essay on life support..and i need much help though!! advice??

We are doing a debate about this topic!!! VERY interesting!! oo and im 15 :]

Does anyone have any information on what the policies are about the poor and receiving life support...

I feel as though people should be taken off life support because they are going through a lot of pain and no one can help them so that's how i feel about life support and i am 14 years old.

this is a GREAT site.