http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/01/gradual_withdrawal_of_care_how_doctors_can_make_end_of_life_decisions_easier.html

Mr. R was a patient I took care of in the intensive care unit early in my residency. He was clearly dying. A month earlier he had presented with an infection after spinal surgery. Since then he had developed respiratory failure, requiring a ventilator; septic shock; and renal failure, requiring dialysis. He had little chance of surviving out of the ICU despite our best efforts—and the entire team knew it.