Michael Phillips wrote a great blog post in which he lays out an argument for going on a ventilator instead of giving up the ghost:
If you have to be on a vent, let it happen. Go with it. Once you’re breathing right, and you’re not nervous ALL THE TIME, you’ll be amazed how much clearer your head will feel. Once you’re breathing right, you can rest and get your strength back. You’ll start to feel like you again. You can take your pain meds, get lots of sleep, you’ll get proper nourishment, and before you know it you’re back to your old self again. All that bad stuff I was scared of, none of it actually happened, and it won’t happen to you either.
It’s been so long since I was put on a vent that I can barely remember life without it. But I do remember the many times I was laid up with a respiratory infection and the sheer effort it took to keep breathing. I haven’t experienced that feeling in decades and I certainly don’t miss it. And with vents becoming ever more portable, physicians and other medical professionals might want to rethink their own biases when advising someone who might need such a device.
