‘You Really Don’t Want Grandma to Survive This’

A doctor talks to Cracked.com:

So when we get one of these patients whose odds are even worse than that — say, your 75-year-old grandma — what do we do?

Do we go for broke to try to save her life, knowing that we’re almost certain to create a completely dependent nursing home patient who may spend the rest of her years in a vegetative state?

Remember, it’s not a “better safe than sorry” situation — every operation I perform with no chance of a good outcome means less time I have to work on people I might actually help.