A father living with motor neurone disease (MND) has been blocked from having a medical procedure he hoped would extend his life.
Aaron Reardon, from Logan in Brisbane’s south, requested a tracheostomy, a procedure that allows you to breathe through the throat instead of the nose and mouth.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Logan father fights for life-extending MND treatment
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MND can cause paralysis and breathing difficulties, and advocates of the tracheostomy say it can potentially add years to a sufferer’s life.
But The Princess Alexandra Hospital refused the request after “clinicians gave it extensive consideration”.
The hospital said elective tracheostomy for permanent invasive ventilation in MND is not standard practice, and carries significant risks without evidence of improved quality of life.
Aaron Reardon, pictured with wife Rebecca, was knocked back for a procedure he hoped would extend his life. Credit: 7NEWS
Newmarket’s Andy Taylor had the procedure in London.
“I can have a pretty normal life expectancy now,” he told 7NEWS.
“Any suffocating mucus can be directly suctioned out from my lungs which you can’t with a mask.
“This is principally why two people die everyday in Australia from MND.”
Stacey Thorpe, chief executive of MND Queensland, said that while Australia has options in place for people who want to prematurely end their lives with voluntary assisted dying, “there doesn’t seem to be the same opportunities for those people that are looking to extend their survival time in any way possible”.
Newmarket’s Andy Taylor had a tracheostomy in London. Credit: 7NEWS
Reardon’s family has launched a petition to parliament to give patient’s more choice.
His wife, Rebecca Reardon, said “we want to push for the Australian standard of care to change for MND” and “tracheostomy ventilation to be offered”.
“It’s going to be too late for Aaron, so it definitely will be a legacy that he leaves that he’s tried to pave the path for other families not to go through what we’ve gone through,” she said.
Saturday is the final day to sign the petition.
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