[LINK] The Cryopreservation of Kim Suozzi

http://www.alcor.org/blog/?p=2716

With the inevitable end in sight – and with the cancer continuing to spread throughout her brain – Kim made the brave choice to refuse food and fluids. Even so, it took around 11 days before her body stopped functioning. Around 6:00 am on Thursday January 17, 2013, Alcor was alerted that Kim had stopped breathing. Because Kim’s steadfast boyfriend and family had located Kim just a few minutes away from Alcor, Medical Response Director Aaron Drake arrived almost immediately, followed minutes later by Max More, then two well-trained Alcor volunteers. As soon as a hospice nurse had pronounced clinical death, we began our standard procedures. Stabilization, transport, surgery, and perfusion all went smoothly. A full case report will be forthcoming.

Previously on LW: Aug 18, Aug 25, Aug 27, Jan 22.

http://www.alcor.org/blog/?p=2716

With the inevitable end in sight – and with the cancer continuing to spread throughout her brain – Kim made the brave choice to refuse food and fluids. Even so, it took around 11 days before her body stopped functioning. Around 6:00 am on Thursday January 17, 2013, Alcor was alerted that Kim had stopped breathing. Because Kim’s steadfast boyfriend and family had located Kim just a few minutes away from Alcor, Medical Response Director Aaron Drake arrived almost immediately, followed minutes later by Max More, then two well-trained Alcor volunteers. As soon as a hospice nurse had pronounced clinical death, we began our standard procedures. Stabilization, transport, surgery, and perfusion all went smoothly. A full case report will be forthcoming.

Previously on LW: Aug 18, Aug 25, Aug 27, Jan 22.

I was thinking that the estimates I've seen were that thirst kills you in around a week depending on your ambient conditions and physical exertion; being in a hospital and doing little would seem to extend the expected duration before thirst kills you. Unless Kim were some sort of super-girl who could set world records for surviving weeks without any water, that strongly suggests that the food/water deprivation was what actually killed her.

Normally in a hospital, if a patient doesn't drink enough for any reason, they're hydrated via IV drip. When I was being treated for cancer, whenever I came in to be hospitalized I was connected to an IV drip - even if I wasn't medicated right away; that was standard policy for all hospitalized patients.

It seems bizarre that a hospitalized patient could suicide by not drinking without the staff being complicit. That's why I thought at first that something else must have killed her; perhaps she was already very weak from the cancer or from chemotherapy, and not eating for 11 days made her weak enough to die.