Family’s 4-year battle to allow daughter in permanent vegetative state a dignified death
Tragic Jodie Simpson, 38, suffered severe, irreversible brain damage after taking a pills overdose at her home in 2012 but a lengthy legal battle forced her to 'suffer' until May 2016
THE family of a woman left in a permanent vegetative state told yesterday how they had to wait four years to let her die.
Tragic Jodie Simpson, 38, suffered severe, irreversible brain damage after taking a pills overdose at her home in 2012.
But because of a series of medical assessments and a lengthy legal battle her family were only allowed to withdraw a feeding tube keeping her alive in May.
Last night, her mum spoke of the devastating delays and called for a change in the law to make it easier for patients like Jodie to die with dignity.
Jean Simpson, 69, : "We were in limbo for nearly four years – emotional limbo, grieving, permanently grieving, but not knowing when the end was coming.
"And every time my daughter had a bad patch, you were hoping that she would pass away. You were praying for it.
"We were tormented. The doctors said she wasn't but she looked it.
"To watch that every day... at the time she was 38. She was 42 when she died. She could have faced years like that with no quality of life whatsoever.
"It just dragged on and on and on. Me making statements saying she shouldn't be living like that and people thought I was a monster wanting rid of a problem.
"I didn't. I just wanted her to be at peace and she didn't look at peace to me.
"I knew from my nursing experience that it wasn't going to get any better.
All I could see was years and years of heartache ahead."
Jodie was found unconscious by her younger brother at her home in Barrow-in-Furness in 2012 after taking an overdose.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital and admitted to intensive care but doctors said there was no sign of consciousness.
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After 10 weeks on a general ward she was moved to a nursing home. She could breathe unaided but could not eat, drink or swallow independently.
The only thing keeping her alive was the feeding tube inserted into her stomach which ensured she got enough food and water to stay alive.
Her family, who also live in Barrow, decided to let her die with dignity but were told they would have to wait six months before any assessments could begin.
She was finally assessed by a team of specialists two years later in September 2014 and diagnosed with a permanent vegetative state (PVS).
But her family had to wait another year for medics to submit an application to the Court of Protection to remove the feeding tube keeping Jodie alive.
Only 100 applications have been made in the past 20 years.
WHAT IS A VEGETATIVE STATE?
A vegetative state is when a person is awake but shows no signs of awareness.
They may open their eyes, wake up and fall asleep at regular intervals and have basic reflexes but do not show any meaningful responses.
In such cases, doctors can withhold food and liquid – if they consider there's no likelihood of improvement, and if the family agree.
After another round of assessments a judge finally agreed to let Jodie die in May. She was moved to a hospice and passed away three weeks later.
It is estimated that up to 16,000 patients in a PVS are in NHS care in England, with thousands more who are minimally conscious.
Prof Derick Wade, one of the country's leading experts on PVS, reckons that figure could be as high as 24,000.
Most will be in nursing homes, where their care's likely to cost about £100,000 a year. He is now calling for a full public debate.
The law was changed in 1993 when the House of Lords ruled that withholding food and water did not constitute murder.
They considered the case of Tony Bland who was left in a permanent vegetative state after the Hillsborough disaster.
He later became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment.