I want to start by saying the case of Baby Joseph is heartbreaking.
This little boy, only fifteen months old, is suffering from a terminal illness. He’s going to die. His Canadian doctors said if the boy was taken off a ventilator at at his most recent hospitalization, he would die. Those doctors refused to perform a tracheotomy on him. So the parents started asking doctors in the US for help. The Children’s Hospital in Detroit was among those that said no. SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in Saint Louis said yes.
Baby Joseph’s parents said they wanted their son to live a bit longer so he could die at home.
I don’t know what to think about this. I know that I, as an adult woman with some health problems, would rather just be unplugged if I were that condition, if I can be blunt.
I can only imagine his parents’ pain. I don’t have children, but I can see how fiercely my friends adore theirs. I know how anxious they are when their children are hurt. I can understand why a parent would do anything to help their children live.
But I question how much of this operation was for the parents, as opposed to the baby. I don’t want this to come off as cold, but—that boy is going to die anyway, and soon. Is it worth the trauma he underwent for an operation, just to keep him alive for a few more months?
I’ll raise the angle that usually dares not to raise its head: the cost. Is this a valid use of health dollars, when it appears only to have been done for the parents? Money should never be the bottom line in health care. But it’s always there, isn’t it?
All the news outlets are touting this is a miracle. It’s not. It’s a very sad story that’s going to end sadly. A few months isn’t going to make a difference for this little guy. A few months maybe will help his parents prepare; it won’t save them from pain.
