Profiles

Here, you can find any of the interviews on this site.



Sonia

Sonia's mother had a devastating stroke in 2005 when she was in her sixties. She appeared initially to make some recovery but a few days later had major swelling of the brain. Clinicians rang her family, telling them her life was in danger, and a decision was made to do a craniotomy. An early bout of pneumonia was aggressively treated, but when pneumonia developed again the decision was made to keep Sonia's mother comfortable but not treat with antibiotics, and her mother died in 2007.

  • Background

    Sonia is 45 years old.

  • Age at interview 45
  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Rifat

    Over the last two months Rifat's family have spent £20,000 in hospital bills, ventilation and medicines to keep her father alive. The family is now moving him home mostly for financial reasons. Rifat worries about her mother.

  • Background

    Rifat is a PhD researcher at the University of York. Her father, aged 70 and living in Bangladesh, suffered a cardiac arrest. He remains alive 9 weeks later, in a...

  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Emma

    Emma's seventy year old mother had a stroke, followed by a brain bleed. The intensive care consultant said there was nothing that could be done for her mother, but Emma could not accept this. A decision was made to insert a feeding tube and Emma's mother survived another three years without ever regaining consciousness.

  • Background

    Emma is married with two young adult children.

  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Fern

    In 2010, Fern was about to give birth to their first child, when her partner had a cardiac arrest that left him severely brain injured. He was only 28 years old. Fern fought hard to ensure he would get every intervention and have a chance to recover. However, she has now thinks continuing to subject him to life-prolonging interventions is cruel and pointless.

  • Background

    Fern is the mother of one daughter.

  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Mark and Helen

    On 10th March 2011 Mark's brother was hit by a car while cycling. Three years later, Mark and Helen have not yet been given a definitive diagnosis or prognosis but are hopeful that he may still recover sufficiently to a life that he would consider worth living. Mark is not sure whether or not, or to what extent, his brother is aware of himself or his surroundings, or whether he will ever become so, but in the meantime he is trying to ensure that his brother gets the best possible medical care.

  • Background

    Mark, aged 56, and Helen, aged 54, are a married couple. Mark is an arts centre manager and Helen works in retail.

  • Sex/Gender Male

    • Verity

    In 2005, at the age of 17, Verity's son was involved in a near fatal car accident that caused him severe traumatic head injuries. After a long period of unconsciousness he eventually showed signs of awareness but his prognosis was not good. Nine years after the accident her son is still alive, living a life without dignity.

  • Background

    Verity is a mother of three sons who worked as a successful business-woman. She is now unemployed due to ill health.

  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Nik

    In 2007 when he was 42, Nik's father fell down some steps and hit his head. He has been apparently completely unconscious ever since and Nik does not believe he would want to live like this. Some years earlier he had suffered a brain haemorrhage and a stroke, following which he had been left with left-side paralysis and memory difficulties, but able to live independently. Nik and her father were extremely close and after that incident he told Nik that if he had another stroke and lost the ability to be independent, he would not want to be kept alive.

  • Background

    Nik is a single mother of one child, and is a care worker.

  • Sex/Gender Female

    • Jim

    Jim's wife Amber was hospitalised with encephalitis at age 66 and despite treatment rapidly deteriorated and became unconscious. Having known two people who made good recoveries from brain injuries, Jim never gave up hope that Amber would recover, but was concerned that she might recover only to a quality of life that she would not consider worth living. He was relieved when she died some 5 to 6 months after being admitted to hospital, without apparently recovering consciousness.

  • Background

    Jim was a retired engineer involved in a range of community volunteer work and campaigns. Jim died in hospital just 4 months after this interview on 18 July 2013, after...

  • Sex/Gender Male