- Playing
- A Parents Story of Perinatal Hospice
- From
- Miles Eddy
Hospice care is something that most people associate with elderly people, or at least terminally ill adults. But what happens when the life that is ending is still in the womb? Janell lives in southern Colorado and learned early in her pregnancy that there was a serious problem with her unborn son.
This summary (also available as a limited series) looks at some of the issues and emotions experienced by one family and the support groups that helped them. The story begins with Janell when she is nine months pregnant, and covers some of the ethical issues she faced, including whether to place her newborn baby into hospice, where her mother is the director of the local hospice facility.
Janell also had to weigh the affect of trying to save her third child on the two daughters she already has, as well as the pain and suffering her newborn baby would have to endure. Despite the difficult situation, Janell and her family find meaning in her son?s life and death.
Originally aired on KRCC 91.5 FM Colorado Springs, Westernskies news cast on 9/29/05, and KRZA 88.7 FM Alamosa/Taos September, 2005
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Piece Description
Hospice care is something that most people associate with elderly people, or at least terminally ill adults. But what happens when the life that is ending is still in the womb? Janell lives in southern Colorado and learned early in her pregnancy that there was a serious problem with her unborn son. This summary (also available as a limited series) looks at some of the issues and emotions experienced by one family and the support groups that helped them. The story begins with Janell when she is nine months pregnant, and covers some of the ethical issues she faced, including whether to place her newborn baby into hospice, where her mother is the director of the local hospice facility. Janell also had to weigh the affect of trying to save her third child on the two daughters she already has, as well as the pain and suffering her newborn baby would have to endure. Despite the difficult situation, Janell and her family find meaning in her son?s life and death. Originally aired on KRCC 91.5 FM Colorado Springs, Westernskies news cast on 9/29/05, and KRZA 88.7 FM Alamosa/Taos September, 2005
Broadcast History
Aired on KRCC 91.5 FM Colorado Springs, Westernskies news cast on 9/29/05.
Aired on KRZA 88.7 FM Alamosa Colorado September, 2005
Transcript
MILES EDDY:
Janell, who doesn't want to use her last name, lives in southern Colorado. Last spring she was an expectant mother.
JANELL:
I'm Janell. We're expecting our third child who is born with a fatal heart defect.
MILES:
Janell and her husband went to Denver, where specialists told them that their unborn child had a genetic condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which prevents the heart from working normally.
JANELL:
The first choice they gave us was hospice care, or comfort care for him. The second choice was a heart transplant, and the third choice was an experimental surgery, it's called the Norwood operation. The pros and the cons for the heart transplant were that he would be at Children's Hospital probably a minimum of 6 months in Denver waiting for a heart. And then we would have to live there, in Denver, an additional six months while they dealt...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
OPTIONAL HOST LEAD
"There are few subjects that challenge the human experience more than life-and-death issues, especially when parents have to make those decisions for their infants. Independent producer Miles Eddy recently spoke with some parents who got devastating news about their pregnancy."
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