DNR does NOT mean do not treat.
Many people think that DNR means...don't treat. That is wrong
DNR means....you don't won't to be intubated..and compression's...done on you. Period.
When it comes to that point....patients without the proper paperwork...cannot make that decision.
I've seen patients without life ending legal paperwork...end up lingering...suffering...on life support. Horribly living their last days...cruelly..IMO, with no hope of survival.
FWIW-
“DNR does NOT mean do not treat.
Many people think that DNR means...don’t treat. That is wrong
DNR means....you don’t won’t to be intubated..and compression’s...done on you. Period.”
They are confusing DNR with Hospice care. My mother was having cancer treatment that left her in horrible shape, and dying. The hospital would only release her to a full nursing facility or hospice (unable to feed herself, bed ridden and all but unresponsive).. We chose hospice as they were the only ones that would use the proper amount of pain meds. She recovered, and was kicked out of hospice. That was 2 years ago.
But under hospice, NOTHING is done to prolong life, should any medical event occur. They will not call EMTs for anything. They will treat cuts, scrapes, etc., but that is all. So when I see folks against DNR orders, I believe they think it is a “no treatment” order, and that is not correct.
As to the above advice that you or your family must be the patient’s advocate, this is correct. I have seen several examples of our present health-care industry uninterested in helping folks over 80 that need treatment. The attitude is they have lived their life, and it is time to let them go. I no longer allow these medical “professionals” to make these decisions WRT my family.