Desperate Choices

If you had to decide whether a person should live or die, what would you do? This is the central theme of Sheri Fink's Five Days at Memorial, a gripping account of how doctors, nurses and their patients at a New Orleans hospital endured unbearable conditions after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Flooding, loss of electricity, sweltering heat, dwindling medical supplies and anarchy in the streets were among the issues confronting doctors and nurses. The situation eventually deteriorated far enough that some workers were placed in the position of deciding whether to let critically ill patients suffer, or hasten their deaths. They chose to administer morphine and other drugs, ending the lives of at least 18 patients.  Five Days at Memorial chronicles the events leading up to these deaths, and the ensuing criminal investigation and trial of those deemed responsible. Readers will come away with a greater understanding of the difficult circumstances residents of New Orleans faced during Katrina, and will also confront important moral and ethical questions. Fink asks us to consider: If we had been there during those dark, desperate days at Memorial, would we have made a different choice?