Mitchell
Welcome to the podcast, episode 41, Doing the Most with Scarlet and Mitchell. We’re both here. But as usual, I just do all the talking at the beginning, right? Yeah?

Scarlet
Yeah. I gotta get it warmed up.

Mitchell
Oh yeah. You before last time on the other episode when you weren’t making fun of my lack of showering you were like I need something to say. Like like to warm up the microphone or whatever.

It doesn’t really matter. So we are back, episode forty-one. Let’s do this, right?

This is doing the most if you’re tuning in.

Scarlet
Is this your new podcast shirt?

Mitchell
I don’t know. Well it’s funny so ’cause we the videos are up on YouTube despite what you’re saying. Like don’t go there. Um Because of that I can I look and I’m like okay I’ve worn this one many times during the pike. You wear uh you have a stripey one that you frequently wear.

Scarlet
Oh yeah.

Mitchell
And sometimes I’m like, oh which episode? Oh not that oh it’s there’s more than one episode. I don’t know.

I guess I could get just wear a straight black shirt and then just every time wear the same one, but that’d make editing harder sometimes because I’d have way too many videos uh and whatnot with the same shirt on So, sorry. No, I liked it. I told ya, I feel like uh I’ve been working out lately and the the arms and the shoulders get a little tight on this shirt.

Self-promotional plug.

Scarlet
Or the shirt is shrinking. Because I’m drying it on hot.

Mitchell
Yeah, it could be. It’s shrinking away from me. Uh okay, what is this podcast all about?

It’s called uh you know what’s funny? It’s called doing the most. Originally it was because we were gonna be like we were talking of we’re both nurses and we’re talking about how sometimes you get patients who are doing the most.

Like they’re just Doing everything, like calling this, that they’re just doing the most. Like just chill up. But then as we learned, it’s really more of a mirror about how we are, or at least I think we’re doing the most in our lives, right?

Like or I think we are. Like I don’t know. And not and not in a good not in a good way or a bad way, but just like there’s just so much going on.

And I I think that’s true.

Scarlet
That’s what I mean. We’re not special.

Mitchell
No, I didn’t I was never play. That’s the whole point. This is while it might be a uh uh cry my cry for help to other people, it’s also a way for other people to go, Hey Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels that way. So if you’re already listening to this sh uh show going, oh, we have a pod you and your partner also have a pod podcast and you’re saying oh well good um we’re not the only ones

Scarlet
another thing we get to cram into our busy schedule to keep doing the most

Mitchell
well I can see you’re excited about it. Yeah let’s talk really quick about the elephant in the room which is Literally there’s a noise in the background that you listener may or may not hear. It’s driving me insane.

It is the fan noise. Uh refer to episode forty if you want to hear Scarlet. Uh crush all my dreams about my 3D printer.

But there’s a 3D printer running in the studio. And unfortunately it will end about the time we are done with our window for recording. So if you hear weird noise in the background, that’s a It’s a 3D printer printing out a lovely uh Captain America helmet for our five-year-old son.

So anyway, I think I got a whole floofy bang going here, like a bang floofing down in my face. So I know.

Scarlet
You got something going on.

Mitchell
Let’s not talk about more. You don’t need to make fun of more 3D printing. Last episode you just really crushed it Meaning it being my dreams and my soul. So thank you.

Scarlet
It’s no secret now to the listener that I’m not the biggest fan of this 3D printer. That is just adding to the amount of garbage in our home.

Mitchell
I know.

Scarlet
So

Mitchell
both uh we don’t have to go back there. Refer I refer to episode 40. Cause you’re saying it’s nice cause it prints more garbage and it is in your opinion a big giant piece of garbage. Where do you see the new one I’m looking at Anyway, it would be a garage printer. Let’s just let’s just skip a lot. Is

Scarlet
printing a garage?

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
For all the crap. Well but another garage?

Mitchell
Yeah, a second garage. Well see, w this is but this is the classic uh approach that many Americans have, or myself. We were like not getting rid of more stuff, let’s just get more organized and find more ways to uh store our stuff rather than just getting rid of stuff, right?

And yeah, this this podcast has been going on for so long and every time I complain about the garage and then about this and then I make Fun of something that you got that I don’t understand and then you crush my dreams in my soul. So this week I think we’re mixing it up, right? Oh no, I’m just saying no, I’m just saying like I’m resentful towards the podcast.

It’s the same podcast every two weeks. Remember when I sort of used the term fortnightly and you hated that? I know this is part of it.

Scarlet
It was a lot. A fortnight.

Mitchell
Yeah, the my mother had printed that stuff out about organizing. Did we talk about it last time? It doesn’t matter. We really are

Scarlet
No, you didn’t bring that.

Mitchell
I don’t know. It doesn’t have to be part of the podcast. It’s the same old story.

Here’s what’s funny too So I work tomorrow and every time right the night before I work, work Miss Eve, I’m always like, ooh, suddenly I have all this energy and desire to get rid of stuff. Like I can see the light at the end of the organizational crap tunnel where I’m like, Oh, I gotta plan for this stuff in the garage and and then but like I don’t know if it’s because work is looming in my brain it’s the classic like scramble, do anything you can to put off work, including getting rid of junk or if it’s more like my brain is like, you know there’s not enough time to get it done. So you’re now is the time that feel like you’re going to do it.

I don’t know. I don’t know which one it is. But I really I’m like, ooh, I got all these great ideas for getting rid of stuff.

You know, I keep I’ve been talking about building a home gym. Remember Adventure Garage? I was like, it’ll be a space for all our stuff for adventures.

And now it’s a space where Yeah. Things like large things that Max got are to going to die and all my junk is out there dying and yeah. Anyway, so Speaking of dying, this week’s episode brought to you by Nothing.

We’re both nurses. And this is

Scarlet
Oh, Loomy.

Mitchell
Oh, I brought to you by Lumi.

Scarlet
24 hour total body deodorant. Lumi, where else are you putting your deodorant besides your armpits?

Mitchell
Yeah. Thank you, Lumi. And I was just calling it Loom at work, but someone’s like it’s Loomie.

Okay. Speaking of Loomie, well we’ll get back to dying really quick because you bought the Loomi and you were like, uh And the flavor you got was Vanilla Bliss, which um it’s not too blissful. You bought it and then I was like, ooh, why aren’t you like You I felt like you weren’t gonna wear it and I was like, how much did it cost?

It’s like seventeen dollars or something?

Scarlet
It was fifteen or more.

Mitchell
Fifteen or more for a sticky joke. Is

Scarlet
deodorant that don’t even get me started.

Mitchell
So I am we’ll get so I was like, I’ll wear it. I didn’t tell you that. I just thought I’m just gonna put some on one day And I did and then I regretted it within minutes because I’m like because of the smell.

I was like, boy, it I feel like it’s got it’s like vanilla bliss, but it already had a touch of like B O, just a just a touch. Just I mean not it just enough where you’re like, oh man. So then for the rest of the day I was like, uh but I will tell you this.

‘Cause it says seventy-two hour deodorant I think. Something like that. I went and like the next day, this wasn’t my series of not showering for days, I don’t think, but like the next day I was like, actually By that time it had seasoned in and I hadn’t ever really got sweaty even though I had done sweating activities.

Mm-hmm. And I was like, ooh, it’s actually kinda working in that regard, so I need them to make it in old spice flavor.

Scarlet
Well I think they have like a sandalwood

Mitchell
or something.

Scarlet
I don’t know, unisex.

Mitchell
Is it marketed towards any p is it men, women, or it’s just

Scarlet
It’s j j generic, unisex.

Mitchell
Do you do you actually apply the stick to every inch of your body? Because it’s whole body? Full body

Scarlet
that’s what I’m saying. Where else are people putting it?

Mitchell
And after they’re done putting it there, are they putting it back under their arms? I’m just saying Exactly like maybe yeah. I’m Loumi, I like kind of what you’re bringing to the table, but I’m not sure how I feel about it all over the table, right? So So if you ever find your Lumi and it looks a little discolored on there, don’t look at me. I didn’t you uh I wasn’t full body in it, okay? Um

Scarlet
They also have a spray Which I feel like is more reasonable for a total body.

Mitchell
Yeah, but like then aren’t you

Scarlet
a s a deodorant stick, come on. Mm, what are you doing?

Mitchell
Spray then I would feel too much like it’s axe body spray, which I hate. I abhor I have horror others.

Scarlet
Oh no, it reminds me of a boys’ middle school locker room.

Mitchell
What, axe or just spraying. your dad or whatever, like you know, like kind of a it’s some sort of a pleasant smell combined with like a alcohol aerosol. I don’t know

Scarlet
every boy went through some sort of axe phase. Like even your son went through. Maybe not an axe, but something similar.

Mitchell
Heavily cologne or just lots of I mean I feel like that’s part of finding your like your Like your uh your your odor, your scent, your I don’t know, just like what do I how do you want to present yourself?

Scarlet
You’re finding your signature scent at the age of fourteen.

Mitchell
I have mine. My signature scent is Old Spice original round stick formula. That’s my that’s like

Scarlet
This is true. You everybody and he doesn’t wear any cologne. I have never bought him cologne. I will never buy him cologne because he would never wear it.

Mitchell
Does that bother you? Do you wish I was a smell a s a cologny smelly guy?

Scarlet
No Doesn’t mean that no. I mean I like a nice cologne when I’m going to be.

Mitchell
So help me Josh if you bring up a kosh

Scarlet
Oh my gosh.

Mitchell
I get to hear how he smells at the cell.

Scarlet
He doesn’t wear cologne at work.

Mitchell
He smells good is what I

Scarlet
Well he must wear it must be like a deodorant or something. It’s not a cologne. I have personally never smelled him at work. And I’ve Seen him at work.

Mitchell
I wonder if it was outside of work, he smelled really good.

Scarlet
I’ve seen him outside of work, but he was coming from the funeral.

Mitchell
I’m just saying like

Scarlet
a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit Cologne.

Mitchell
Ask me if I had a smell. And I was like, well, I mean like like a c and then someone else goes, No, Mitchell never he doesn’t smell like that. I mean Maybe at the end of a shift I smell like onion sandwiches.

Scarlet
Oh, vanilla, rainbow, cupcake.

Mitchell
You what we’re getting there. Because uh when I think of the smell that w so you’ll get up and go to work and then when I get up and go in the bathroom, it smells like Smells kinda like a candy shop. Just like a this a little bit of a

Scarlet
Okay, that’s what I’m going for.

Mitchell
Like a unicorn came through sprinkling some sugar dust or something And if that’s where you’re going for you’re you’re getting there. So I’m saying like oh and that and I think of that as your smell.

Scarlet
Okay.

Mitchell
Which I prefer over when you were using Uh it was not a unicorn, it was more like a Sasquatch um like Bear Mountain Old Spice Krakatoon, I don’t know.

Scarlet
I mean, okay, this is true. I have often preferred men’s deodorant over women’s, but then I found The Rio Dio.

Mitchell
Okay.

Scarlet
Thank you, Rio de Janeiro.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Brand.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
A body spray and deodorant.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
So ever since then, I’ve drifted away from the men’s deodorant because women’s deodorant is all about like

Mitchell
floral

Scarlet
and powdery and like I more like sandalwood and musk and more of those like spicy scents.

Mitchell
Well me too.

Scarlet
Not But yes , but

Mitchell
not on you. I mean I yeah.

Scarlet
Yeah.

Mitchell
I’m just saying. But but like no, I this candy stuff, I’m I’m I’m down with that I was I didn’t w it wasn’t like it repelled me. I was just saying, oh you she’s doing the, you know, old spice, you know, whatever it was call Bear Wrangler or something like bear glove. Bear glove? There you go.

Scarlet
I don’t know.

Mitchell
Never mind.

Scarlet
What?

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Okay.

Mitchell
Foxglove is uh the they use that uh someone’s gonna misquote it was like a weed or like a flower or it was a plant

Scarlet
Okay.

Mitchell
That’s where DeJoxon comes from and that’s where they believe that our friend Vincent Van Goo was was uh had l over no what’s not overdose, had high levels of digoxin, which is why he saw all those auras and they believe that might have been a contributory thing for some of his issues. I don’t know if that’s confirmed. Anyway, sorry. But back then they were. I remember not

Scarlet
somewhere. Yeah.

Mitchell
If I got that all wrong, hey, send us a little thing into the show at our Instagram or our YouTube or DirectMessage or wherever you wanna get your podcast complaints at. Okay. Dying. Speaking of oh. No continue.

Scarlet
Oh we’re gonna talk about dying.

Mitchell
No, I don’t know. But speaking of

Scarlet
I was gonna say speaking of work and work people.

Mitchell
Yes. Okay.

Scarlet
I went to the DMV the other day. Which I had to go with Max because you were

Mitchell
work, yeah.

Scarlet
And I was like, oh my goodness, this is gonna be the worst. Because every time every time I think DMV, I think Sitting down waiting for 45 minutes for them to call you up only for them to tell you you didn’t bring the right documents.

Mitchell
Yeah. Oh yeah.

Scarlet
And I was going to get my real ID. Because I had to get my real ID because I gotta get my new piv exemptions and work whatever. It’s a whole thing.

And it’s like, but your my driver’s license doesn’t match my PIV card for work. So now I have to make my driver’s license match. And I’m like, well whatever.

I haven’t even gotten my real ID anyways. I’ve been using my passport to travel. I should probably just get my real ID.

This is my sign. Just get your freaking real ID, Scarlet. So I made an appointment super easy.

I was afraid it was was like gonna take me weeks to get get an appointment. But Lake Ozwio had like appointments that day.

Mitchell
Yeah

Scarlet
But so anyways, I made an appointment a couple days later, got all my documents together, walked in took a number or like punched in my confirmation code. They called me up within two minutes. And then you know Max was just kind of more like, what is this place?

Well he was more curious than anything. He didn’t know what was going on And then I have all the documents I need. Yay.

Um, the guy was wearing a UNC jacket and I was gonna say something about it, but then I was like, I don’t wanna like start a conversation Right. About like, oh I went to Duke, you wanna know

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
Because then I would have to like talk to someone.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
And social anxiety. But anyways, so Then it gets to the part where he’s like filling out and then he’s like, Would you like to be an organ donor? And I was like And every time I’ve said yes.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
But this time I was like No.

Mitchell
Just like that.

Scarlet
Yeah. Because Like I’m rewinding back to, you know, all the times that we’ve taken care of, you know, transplant patients and Not all of them. This is I’m not generalizing

Mitchell
but I

Scarlet
I we see who deceased people’s organs go to.

Mitchell
Yes.

Scarlet
And sometimes we also see the after effects of what these surgeries look like. And But both, but regardless. I thought, you know what, I have taken care of enough handful of A -holes that have gotten organs from deceased people that I you know what? I’m good.

Mitchell
But you don’t want your organs to go.

Scarlet
If it were if it were the case where they were like, you know what, Mitchell, like your wife has passed away. She was an organ donor Like here is a list of people who is you know here’s a list of people who can have her liver, here’s a list of people who can have her kidneys. I want you to read through their profiles.

Mitchell
Right

Scarlet
And I’m I mean I’m serious. I know that seems like a lot.

Mitchell
Yeah. Well but and

Scarlet
kind of weird. But I just feel like families should have a say in who their deceased family members organs go to.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
Instead of just Some stranger who like, oh, he just decided to get sober 90 days ago because uh his liver started failing.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
And he went into liver failure, and then then he decided to get sober

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
And now he needs a liver. Oh look, he’s first on the liver list because he was so sick and oh now he got a new liver and like he’s all better, but oh my gosh, he started drinking again Mm-hmm. Because he was like , and it’s I mean I get it, alcoholism is a disease. We have had people suffer in our families, your brother, for example, who had a perfectly healthy liver after he passed away.

Mitchell
He could have his could he could he could have we talked about him being an organ donor.

Scarlet
Yeah, he could have given his to someone. Right. Um but I just feel like The process isn’t right.

Mitchell
No.

Scarlet
And the family should have some sort of say This

Mitchell
or

Scarlet
who it goes to.

Mitchell
And I’m not disagreeing with that. Although it does present some some I wanna say ethical But there is it does it is kinda interesting because that’s it does present a gray area, right? Where it’s like, well, I mean you’re just donating but you’re now wanting to dictate who can have your organ and that’s not how it works.

I mean someone might say that. And I I think there needs to be a new maybe there’s a new like specific type of organ donation where it’s like, well I have a you know a list of requirements because um, you know, I think that would be a fair thing. Or for the family.

For the person and then the family. ‘Cause in a weird way it’s also like, Well, you’re dead. You don’t really have your your rights ended.

You don’t have any more like say about anything. I mean although we do, because you can be not an organ donor, right? And apparently after you die then they’re not gonna come harvest your organs because you’re not an organ donor.

So I mean you still I guess your body still has some rights. I’m not sure That’s an interesting no it’s a good interesting legal question. But

Scarlet
Oh but some unborn fetus has more rights than my like dead body. Don’t even get me started.

Mitchell
Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But what I am saying is like It would be nice if there was a way to be a contingency, which seems a little kinda cruddy on one hand, like, oh wow, so she’s but on the other ’cause I’m with you too. Like I we both work intimately with um our some of our populations.

You get the people right after surgery and then I take care of them before and after that for the transplant recipients and for I don’t know. This would be it’s anecdotata, right? But I feel like for every good person there’s a rotten guy who you’re like, really?

This guy the who doesn’t A person who doesn’t even have any sort of respect or like that there’s no gratitude. for the organ they got.

Scarlet
Yeah.

Mitchell
They’re often we see often of with some of these liver guys it’s like the you can see they were enabled by family and families pushed them into getting the transplant And I’m talking usually usually these are like thirty, forty year olds. And then they they don’t do well and or they don’t want to do all the work after the transplant. They become babies and it’s like oh they don’t realize Like s someone failed to explain, oh this sucks.

It’s a it’s not an easy process. So then there’s kind of that lack of gratitude, which isn’t to say someone in so in other you go, well someone For you to be where you’re at, someone had to die. Like that’s you know, they didn’t die specifically so you could have their organ, but someone gave their life and There might have been a better recipient on the list.

So I mean I don’t know. Do you think they would ever change that to be like, oh well sh or card said I mean That’s interesting. I did I didn’t look up this.

So I did look up I want to think 60, it’s on that thing over there, the next episode. That’s the very first line says Sixty is it sixty percent, seventy percent

Scarlet
Oh sixty percent of citizen

Mitchell
sixty percent of US people are organ donors as by the numbers, which is pretty high. Like A higher number than I would have guessed, right? I don’t know. I mean that was based off a quick little search online, but that was from like some national organ donor or something, something or another So y I I on the other hand you’re saying maybe there’s enough organs already out there, right?

Scarlet
Yeah, they don’t need mine.

Mitchell
Yeah,

Scarlet
there’s n there’s enough. You know? And again, I’m not generalizing ’cause I’ve taken care of some wonderful people. Like

Mitchell
We’ve seen we’ve seen people who are wonderful who have had organ failure because of let’s just say hereditary genetics and not because of you know, abuse or poor health choices who don’t get a liver or an organ because just things the way things pan out, there’s not one time that ‘s

Scarlet
Unfortunate.

Mitchell
That makes you sad too because you’re like ah you know how that’s not

Scarlet
But then like the next week some

Mitchell
How does this happen?

Scarlet
who had liver disease and he um it was bec due to a condition he had.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
And like to no fault of his own was offered three livers and for whatever like but all three times didn’t work out One of ’em was bad. They may have all three been bad. I don’t really remember um the circumstances. But and then he ended up passing away.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
But then you know Probably less than a few days later, another guy comes in. Just thirty, forty -something year old Alcohol, liver, cirrhosis, yellow as a highlighter and

Mitchell
just

Scarlet
you know like

Mitchell
walks through, gets the liver. Probably gonna return to his lifestyle.

Scarlet
It’s really frustrating. Yeah. Or a liver going to someone in their seventies. It’s like seventies.

Mitchell
Which It’s part another little part of my topic, but I mean about DNR D and I. Not that we have to get into that. Yeah, but I mean that’s uh something that made me think of this. Now As um and I don’t know if this is entirely true, but like in my brother’s case, because initially there was some question about how he passed away.

I know sounds really weird, right? But initially was like, you know, um then later it was d determined to be suicide. I say that because th we didn’t actually find the note.

So it was like kind of this like mystery at first Mm-hmm. Which I this sounds really weird to talk about. But he was listed as an organ donor.

He was like a big gung-ho guy like that. But because they were gonna do an autopsy, they were not able to do organ donation because of that, because the autopsy takes time. They actually look and and I read the aut now real quick side note.

Sound if this is morbid or gruesome, sorry, this is the insight. Oh, if you’ve ever read an autopsy report, but I remember reading his report and just going like I was kinda like I was still, of course, um probably in the early stages of grief and acceptance of all the stuff that’s going on, but I was like, oh, they had like the weight of his brain, which If you don’t if you can’t do the math there folks, that means they had to remove it from his body, right? I don’t know if they stick these things back in.

Like they had the weight of all his organs and then like How you know, how many grams and like what they look like, etc. And I remember kind of having that moment of like, oh, I don’t really wanna know anymore about like the whole autopsy component. Anyways, not able to have the uh organ donation, as far as I’m my understanding. Someone else can correct me, but I think that is actually still accurate, which is, you know Which is I’m not saying it’s too bad he couldn’t be an organ donor.

I’m just saying, you know, at the time. So now we were talk and but uh finally the print is done. We can all relax The big three D printer for thirty hours of printing.

Um so DNR DNI. For in those of you who are not totally in the know, that’s do not resuscitate, do not intubate. Uh DNA R. What is that?

You ever seen that? Is that do not attempt resuscitation? We should know.

Anyways, this is something that frequently we see um people will have listed and it essentially just means if you don’t know It means and the doctors will have the conversation. Hey, if your heart stops, do you want us to begin compressing your chest? If you stop breathing, do you want to stick a tube down your throat and and breathe on and breathe on your behalf?

Which then we see in the hospital. Often we uh I mean this is where you know I mean we’re judging people, but sometimes you’re like, oh man, this guy is super duper duper sick. He’s I don’t know this let’s just say they’re seventy-eight, eighty-two, and yet then they remain what we call full code, meaning we’re gonna do everything under the sun to save their life And and I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, I’m saying it’s a very interesting thing because if someone asked me right now, like would you be a full code You know, it’s kind of strange to stop and think like oof.

I mean I think yeah, because I’m still young, a lot of life left. However, in end of life or as people get older, we often think like You should really let nature take its course. Now I don’t know how you actually feel about this, but you know, we’ve kind of talked partially with my dad, because is Camera, see a D and I, D and R.

Scarlet
Yeah, your parents both are. Right. Like your mom, your mom and dad are both like, oh, we both filled out forms that say, you know, this. And here’s the thing, like it And I’m glad they told us this.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
Because I more often than not will see people come in and they have filled out what’s called a post. saying I do not want I’m a DNR D and I I do not want these things done and they come in they’ve they’re found in their care facility or whatever they come in and they’re super super sick on the verge of you know coding or whatever and then a family member swoops in and Their rights no longer the patient’s rights apparently that post no longer matters because they’re too sick to advocate for themselves because maybe they’re altered. Um like confused, delirious.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
They can’t speak for themselves because They don’t know what’s going on. Family member swoops in and is like, whoa whoa whoa, dad was just up and walking yesterday. This is no. No, no, no. We have to do everything we possibly can.

to like save him because just yesterday he was up and eating dinner in the lounge and so now His what he specifically requested doesn’t matter anymore. And to me, this happens all the time. So and like we have conversations like this as nurses Like all the time in the ICU, you guys probably have it too.

We’re just like, why does this happen? Like why even fill out the form if it doesn’t even matter

Mitchell
Right. It’s um it’s that’s a very interesting area. Legally I don’t understand all but and then the POLST with a portable order for life sustaining treatment is for when they’re transporting, but then it like sticks with them when they arrive at the hospital for us. Um and then yeah, families will override these decisions and that’s Unfortunate because yeah, no, we you that’ll be like you’ll roll in and you’re like, hey, uh so and so in 142, room 142 They’re like, and yeah, the personal yeah, still full coding. You’re like, really? We’re really still like we’re really still full coding this guy and like And and it it’s

Scarlet
And they’re like, yeah, daughter came in wants everything done. And you’re just like you want to bang your freaking head against the wall because you’re like, you know, like Nature is taking it okay, yes, like they’ve aspirated it and they now have like raging pneumonia because listen, they’re old, they’re weak, they’re they’re they’re not what they used to be. And now they’re septic and just, you know, like let’s make them comfortable. This is what they wanted.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Nope, doesn’t matter anymore. We are going to make them suffer Put a tube down their throat.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Like it’s it’s very traumatic.

Mitchell
Oh it’s I mean we I see I get sad and then sometimes these people lose the ability to communicate, but you can see it in their eyes. Like they’re like

Scarlet
Every day that they’re on that ventilator, they get weaker and weaker. And some of them never regain the strength to breathe on their own. So they end up with a tracheostomy.

I could go on, people. Like it’s it’s outrageous. Like it’s like our our healthcare system I don’t even know if that’s just here in the US or if like how it how it is in other countries, I would be Very curious to know.

But um really screwed up.

Mitchell
I think the way that we do this. Mistake the whole idea and even I there’s a connotation here where it’s like Oh, he’s a DNR, D and I. There’s almost this like, oh, they don’t want to live and it’s like, no, I think we’ve somehow mixed that up with No, it’s not that he doesn’t want to live. He wants to die naturally and hopefully peacefully.

I mean it’s not to say that there aren’t painful ways to to expire. that aren’t involving chest compressions and you know like but more I would I don’t know this is pure purely anecdot anecdotal but I would think No, they want to live and they want to die naturally. And I think that’s we don’t somehow we don’t respect that.

We think that is like someone’s not like, what You don’t want to do everything under the sun to live? Like, no, I want to live on my terms and when nature said it’s time for me to go, I want to die. Yeah.

Not I want to die surrounded by people I love Not with a 200 tube sticking out of me because we’ve seen how it is ugly, messy, seasoning.

Scarlet
I totally just remember the the pit does such a great

Mitchell
season one I think

Scarlet
example of this. And in like kind of a compressed way that we would see it.

Mitchell
Is this from the season one or the guy with cancer?

Scarlet
No, season one. Season one. Right.

Where the dad comes in from a care facility, he has pneumonia Yeah. And the son is advocating to just make him comfortable because that he was a DNR DNI and the daughter comes in and wants everything done. And so they end up intubating him And but his blood pressure continues to drop and all you know, and so they have to keep continue escalating things.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Until Finally Dr. Robbie comes in and has the talk with them.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
And they transition him to comfort care. So like that all happens within like one or two episodes or something. And I remember just like almost bawling my eyes out because being like, oh my gosh, this is the first time I’ve seen in a TV show where they really capture what it’s like to like what healthcare workers experience, like watching these family dynamics and like how what the patient wants doesn’t even matter anymore because

Mitchell
right

Scarlet
I don’t know. It would be the equivalent of like You know, Sewer Jim gets sick, they’re in the hospital, you know, we know they did not want intubation. they have pneumonia and then your sister comes in and she’s like, Nope and you’re like, What where’d you come from?

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
You were just in Minnesota.

Mitchell
Right, no, this kind of the idea that um yeah, it’s never like It’s the family that’s not willing to accept this condition. They’re not ready to accept the death yet.

Scarlet
And I’m like, this is a this isn’t this isn’t you thing.

Mitchell
Yeah, this is not them. And then they don’t realize that they’re just it actually in a weird way it just prolongs death And I’m not saying in every case. Because there are some cases where, you know, I yeah, there are place cases where it’s like, yeah, they uh did chest compressors, they brought this guy back from wherever and he’s walkie-talkie, he’s really healthy now.

Like You know, okay, fair enough. There’s those situations. I’m not gonna argue, but I but we see, at least on our mind, more situations where it’s the opposite.

It’s like Do everything you can and then you’re like you don’t realize this is a slow grind, which in a way is actually more painful for the family. Like a family to have to sit while someone is just slowly declining because they’re they’re no longer eating They’re not breathing like they’re getting weaker and you’re just going like, yeah, you don’t realize like you’re on the the downward slope and because of all this decision making that you wanted to do You’ve now made it painful for yourself because you have to sit through and watch your loved one maybe suffer or maybe not even be there because they’re just they’re now you know, the last time you talked to him was when whenever. So I feel like you’re not realizing that you’re gonna have this experience of like, oh, the last time you saw your dad had uh, you know, a tube in his mouth, a tube in his throat, uh, you know, hooked up to other things, like maybe who I mean it it can get even worse, but it’s just that like it’s unfortunate.

But when do you decide and we gotta wrap up the episode but when When do you decide to go DNR D and I? Or do you think you should be that way the whole time? Because admittedly, something catastrophic could happen.

I don’t know. You or I get in a car accident and you get hit in such a way that, you know, it causes a dysrhythmia in your heart. I don’t know.

Something happens, it’s like, well, they could probably begin compressions and get you back and you live a full another 30, 40 years. Okay. There’s the other side is like, oh the disease process is taking hold.

But yeah, now we’re gonna do all these things. I don’t know. I’ve ’cause I thought recently, I was like, ooh, what yeah, when do you make that decision?

‘Cause if you wait too long Then you may not have the capacity to make the right or a good decision or a decision that is yours. I don’t know. So anywho

Scarlet
Are you asking me?

Mitchell
I don’t know. I’m just throwing it out there. Like I mean do you know, like have you thought about that? So like right now are you a full coder?

Scarlet
Well yeah. Because I have a lot of life ahead of me. Why would I

Mitchell
Well I know. So I guess I’m saying at what point do you decide like There’s not

Scarlet
I feel like you you hit a point where you know. I feel like your parents hit a point where they were they knew.

Mitchell
They’re like, we’ve we’ve gotten our worst out of life.

Scarlet
Yeah.

Mitchell
We are And they’re doing pretty good health care.

Scarlet
Because they’re okay, your dad’s the tail end of the silent generation and your mom’s a baby boomer, but Man are these baby boomers afraid of death like none other.

Mitchell
Right.

Scarlet
Like they wanna you know some are DNR DNA, yes. But we get those in some in the hospital and they wanna hold on to life

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Until the very last grips of it. Because they are scared to death of death.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Of what’s on the other side.

Mitchell
Some of these people seem kind of rotten and you think, is it because they haven’t Gone through whatever it is to get forgiveness or to feel good about like their spirit is just not ready to do that.

Scarlet
I think the ones who are good people, they’re not afraid.

Mitchell
They’re like, No, I’m ready.

Scarlet
They’re like, I’m ready.

Mitchell
Whether it’s they believe they’re gonna meet their maker or they just have done they’ve done the best they can in their life and they’re like, I don’t have anything that I need to be regretful about And death is just like, you know as I like to say, it is the end of a trail that we are all walking on.

Scarlet
And we also deal with a very special patient population who’s done Who knows what.

Mitchell
Yeah.

Scarlet
Honestly.

Mitchell
Right. No, I think

Scarlet
And they’re afraid to face that.

Mitchell
We sometimes I think sometimes we forget that we you and I’m just saying the staff forgets that there’s a uh you know, some of these patients we have have dealt with some very interesting things. So anyway, okay. Well, that’s a chipper note to leave on or not.

Scarlet
It’s actually not very often that we actually talk about work.

Mitchell
I know. I felt like, hey, it was a good little shift of gears, you know?

Scarlet
Yeah.

Mitchell
Nursing talk. Little put some drops out there for people who have haven’t thought about these things or the inside. And if you think we’re wrong, that’s fine too.

I mean we’re I’m not saying we’re right. I’m just saying But sometimes people are like, What are you kidding? You am I, you know?

I’m gonna save my parents. It’s not about saving people, it’s about letting people Die with dignity. I was about to say.

There you go.

Scarlet
Yeah. Not suffering.

Mitchell
Yeah. All right. Well.

Oh, I guess that’s about it. So that’s a good episode, everybody. Thanks for tuning in.

Scarlet
Yeah.

Mitchell
Uh until next time.

Scarlet
I’m Scarlet.

Mitchell
And I’m Mitchell.

Scarlet
And we’re

Mitchell
doing the most.

Scarlet
Bye.