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I have a 32 year old brother who has had an infection in his leg for a while. He has gone to the hospital about 3 times now because he does not treat his condition seriously and refuses the aftercare and makes the excuse that it is too much money. My brother is 300+ pounds and his leg looks extremely bad it is really swollen and red and refuses to go to the hospital. If I call the ambulance can they force him to get treatment? I don't want to lose my brother I tell him to change his lifestyle and all he says is "I don't care if I die". :'(

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He is competent, he can refuse treatment. EMT's may try to convince him to go, but will not force him.
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Thank you all for the responses. I am so happy I found this page😊 my brother has seeked medical treatment and i am following your opinions to seek help for his depression.
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Countrymouse Jul 2019
That's really good news, thank you for letting us know. I hope your brother turns a corner from here, best wishes to him and you both.
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Remind him that many diabetics face amputation - that may sound worse than death to him. And once he is there see if you can get a psychiatrist consult, he's far too young to give up on life.
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No, no one can force him into medical treatment that he does not want. But it's time now for him to complete and Advance Health Care Directive and document exactly what medical treatment he would and would not want. If he doesn't get treatment for his legs now, then the medical decisions will become harder in the future as he gets sicker, and YOU just might end up having to make those choices for him. I'm a Social Worker in the health care field and made a video about Advance Directives, maybe it will help you and your brother, here's a link:
http://bit.ly/2O3AbS3
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I don't think they can force him but is there anyway you can convince him to go
cellulitis is extremely difficult to treat -
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No, if he says he’s not going they can not force him to.
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The ambulance crew can't force him to accept treatment and they can't force him to go to hospital, but it's probably worth calling them anyway. They can tell him the home truths about what will happen better than you can.

If you have reason to believe your brother is mentally ill, though, that can change the game somewhat. Do you?
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Because of his weight, he is probably not getting much circulation. Is he diabetic? If so, this could turn very serious.

Sorry, but he can refuse to go and they can't make him.

To protect you, though, I would call APS. Ask if anything can be done. Maybe even come out and talk to him. You need some kind of report saying that he refuses to go. Then u cannot be held responsible for his decisions. If u do call the EMTs make sure they do a report saying brother refused to be taken to the hospital.
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It is time now to seek help of a licensed social worker familiar with illness. Your brother sounds very depressed and the fact is he may be actively if not intentionally wishing to die. Who is supplying the food intake to someone bedridden, or is he still getting his own unhealthy diet? I hear all the time in these cases that "Food is the only thing he has; he gets MAD if he doesn't get it; I can't deny him the food". The truth is that this causes diabetes and horrible circulation and non-healing sores that can indeed kill.
An ambulance cannot force someone rational and speaking to go to the hospital and they do not treat except as an emergency, say if he falls and you cannot get him up. So they are unlikely to be help until he collapses, at which point this may go systemic and be deadly.
I know your love your brother; I have one who has been the best man in my life all my life; but the truth may be that life is too hard for your brother, and he truly does want to die. He is now so ill and depressed he cannot imagine giving up food, getting healthy, taking care of himself. Too hard and for too little in return, since he doesn't like life right now and may not have liked it for a long time. Do get him help for his depression. He must see someone trained now in this. I wish you so much luck, both of you, moving forward.
I do not know where you live and what you have access to and the weight is a concern all the way around, but your brother should now be seeing a wound care nurse regularly and in the care of a wound care clinic. Speak to his doctor about this.
If in the end your brother refuses your help there is not a lot you can do.
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The one concrete thing you can do for now (If he will comply) is to get that leg elevated ASAP.

As everyone has said, yes, he can refuse transport. Sadly.

It also appears your brother is too depressed to make sound decisions about his own health. The depression could well be a feature of his diabetes or underlying metabolic problems, and it is quite possible the depression, as well as other health issues, could be cleared up with medical intervention addressing those very things.

This must be utterly heartbreaking for you! I am so sorry. Yes, try APS. You might also consult a good elder care attorney to see what your options are (true, he is not elderly, but attorneys specializing in elder care are better equipped to advise you on a case like this).

Please let us know how you are getting on. Do you have other family members to help and support the two of you through this?
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