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"DO NOT RESUSCITATE" TATTOOED ON 85 YR OLD MAN
'Do not resuscitate' tattoo for pensioner An 85-year-old woman has had the words Do Not Resuscitate tattooed on her chest to make sure her intentions are known if she is taken seriously ill. Frances Polack, a former nurse, said she did it to prevent any doctor and her relatives from getting into trouble for obeying her wishes to be allowed to die when seriously ill. Mrs Polack, who lives in the New Forest, Hampshire, told the Nursing Standard magazine that she has carried around a living will in her handbag for years but felt this might not be checked during an emergency. Explaining her reason for the tattoo, she said: "Years ago when I was nursing I could see they resuscitated so many people who they shouldn't have. "I don't want to die twice. By resuscitating me, they would be bringing me back from the dead only for me to have to go through it again. "There is enormous pressure on doctors and paramedics, often from relatives, to try to revive patients at any cost, even when the patient has made their wishes clear on hospital notes. "I did it because I believe it would protect me, protect my family, if they were asked for consent, and protect any doctors involved." Alongside the instruction, Mrs Polack, originally from South Africa, also had a heart design tattooed with a "no go" sign through it. She said she paid £25 for the tattoos. She said: "They were most professional considering they probably don't have old women coming into their shop to have their boobs tattooed every day." 
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