BTW, I'm not saying there is no hope of weaning Jerry's brother in law from mechanical ventilation. Pneumonia represents a potentially reversible condition from which the patient may recover fully. Mechanical ventilation does not serve only to "prolong death" but offers a chance to return to his previous level of functioning. Many patients with even end-stage emphysema can be successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation.

But weaning him from mechanical ventilation, if it can be done, won't end his suffering. In end stage, while there may be hope of another couple of months off the ventilator, there isn't really any hope of an improved quality of life. You just linger longer than if you hadn't been put on mechanical ventilation to begin with. And one of the catch 22's of putting emphysema patients with pneumonia on the ventilator, is that the ventilator can cause the pneumonia to come back after it has been "cured" by antibiotics.

Jerry's brother in law may indeed "recover" and be successfully "weaned" from the ventilator. But he is still going to die of the disease or it's complications, and his death is coming sooner rather than later. Sometimes, once the patient and family accept that fact, the borrowed time they get from mechanical ventilation can allow them to accept and prepare for the death. If that is what transpires for Jerry's family, he indeed can be thankful. But as Sorcha also pointed out, that isn't necessarily the way things will go, despite the doctor and family having "hope".