from Hacker News

Twelve Words

by badcede on 9/13/19, 7:52 PM with 14 comments

• by DoreenMichele on 9/14/19, 9:44 PM

  In June the hospital decided he had aged-out of pediatrics and transferred him to adult care, where the doctors and nurses were not trained to deal with severely disabled patients—because they didn’t usually live this long and because, to be honest, they were not profitable. The doctors and nurses botched routine procedures but blamed the hole in his gut on the group-home nurses. Everyone disavowed responsibility, which did nothing to close the hole.

  My mother stared down at the age spots on her hands. “I want him to die with dignity,” she said. “I want to save him from future pain. They’ll tech him out. They’ll torture him. I think I’m just quitting and he’s not, but that’s not true. He’s ready to go, too.” Her voice broke. “I just feel like I’m killing my child.”

  It's a very poignant piece about a family with a severely medically disabled member as told by his twin brother.

• by mcphage on 9/14/19, 5:26 PM

  This was unbelievably beautiful, thank you for sharing it.

• by brianberns on 9/14/19, 6:09 PM

  Holy cow, I was not expecting that. Thank you.

• by adfm on 9/15/19, 1:13 AM

  Deeply touching. Thank you.

• by travisgriggs on 9/14/19, 9:54 PM

  All comments to this post should be exactly twelve words long. Agreed?

• by lisper on 9/14/19, 3:55 PM

  FYI, because it is not at all clear from the title, this is a story about recovering from a serious brain injury.