Abstract

Mrs. J was a 66-year-old Muslima who was brought to the hospital from the subacute unit where she had been living for the past 2 years because of intense pain caused by keratitis, an inflamed cornea of a nonfunctioning eye. In addition to her severe eye pain, Mrs. J suffered with a number of other difficult medical conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was both gastric tube and ventilator dependent and had a history of multiple myleoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. Mrs. J came from a large and traditional Muslim family with 6 children and 17 grandchildren. Although she had full decisionmaking capacity, she designated one of her sons to make her medical decisions for her.