Some of you may think the decision on another's life is a joke, but as
mortals and living in this highly technological country, we will all
face this decision some day. Many of you may already had.

I know of two Hmong cases and have heard of many.

Case 1. An old grandmother was given six months to live due to a
heart condition. She refused to have a heart transplant. The
hospital had exhausted all medical options to treat her so she was
given to the family to care for her at home. The grandma could still
walk with some assistance, but because of her heart, doctors
discouraged her from all physical movements. She also suffered from
intolerable pain, so she was given pain medications which put her to
sleep most of the time. Everyone in the family either had a job or
had to go to school so no one could stay with the grandma to care for
her. The grandma refused to be put into a nursing home. She was
fully alert and coherent, so she could still express her will. This
put the family in a difficult situation. Against the grandma's wish,
the grandma was put in a nursing home. She died within a week...most
likely of a heartache.

Case 2. A man had kidney failure and was hospitalized. Because of
some nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection, the man went into a
coma for a month. He had to be supported by a feeding tube. The
doctors asked the family if they wanted to continue life support. To
continue, an incision into the man's throat had to be made because
continual use of the feeding tube through the mouth could cause
problems for the mouth. The family refused the incision, so the tube
was removed. The man died of lung failure the next day.

These are just 2 cases I know of. There are many Hmong cases that I
heard about. The decision is a hard one. Some of you asked, "what
about free will"? What if the patient can no longer speak like in
case 2 or does not want to die like case 1, what would be the proper
course to take?