Learning How to Take Care of Life After Death: A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal
Robert Spear, M.D.
Happy Labor Day! Robert (Bob) Spear, MD is a board certified pediatrician, anesthesiologist, pediatric anesthesiologist, and pediatric intensivist. He recently retired from his clinical practice at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. We’ve been friends and colleagues since we met at Hopkins almost 40 years ago! I saw this letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal and thought you might all enjoy it. Myron Yaster MD
From the Wall Street Journal
Regarding Michael Stanley’s “‘Brain Death’ Marks the True End of a Person’s Life’” (op-ed, Aug. 23): One of the greatest lessons I learned in pediatric critical care was from Dr. Mark Rogers at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1986 we gathered for teaching rounds at the bedside of a two-year-old who had just met the criteria for brain death. We told Dr. Rogers that we had met with the parents, who turned down organ transplantation. Our plan was to remove the boy from life support right away. The child was legally dead and prolonging life support was futile, we explained, a waste of resources. Our learning was about to begin. Dr. Rogers asked questions that made us all better doctors. Where were the grandparents? We learned that they were arriving later that night. Why not allow the family to be together at the bedside and say goodbye? Wouldn’t it be better to wait? We regrouped, and the parents were beyond thankful. Dr. Rogers taught us not only to take care of the critically ill child, but to extend the same level of care to the family.