Let’s face facts: dating can be hard. The apps are terrible for your mental health partly thanks to the ‘predatory’ design methods deployed by Big Tech brands like Tinder. The only thing that’s harder than dating, however, is marriage, as this Chinese couple made all too clear after a medical emergency earlier this month…

There’s no denying that these life-and-death moments are some of the most difficult and heart-wrenching moments in any marriage but, as this couple found out the hard way, things can take a far more dramatic turn when you throw some long-festering infidelity into the mix.

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Decades Of Deceit

The 38-year-old husband — who had lived with his illicit lover for a good ten years but was, technically speaking, still married — saw his duplicity come to a sudden and sticky end when he had a stroke at his mistress’ house; he was rushed to the hospital and then promptly slipped into a coma. His condition was so serious that for them to carry out an operation sufficient to save his life, the doctors required a blood or by-law relative’s permission.

Doctors had hoped to get this from the man’s mistress. Unfortunately, she had already gone home and was uncontactable… so the decision fell to his estranged wife. Doctors told her that her husband had slim chances of survival if he did not have immediate surgery. And yet, the wife — apparently under great emotional strain — made an altogether unexpected decision…

Tough Call

Reports indicated that, during discussions with medical staff, his wife said that her husband “has been unfaithful and provided no support… [she hasn’t] loved him for a long time.” According to doctors, her replies showed a great deal of mental anguish but, even more pointedly, a good dose of bitterness. In the end, faced with the dilemma of either the extremely costly and dangerous surgery or letting nature take its course, she opted for the latter.

The eyewitnesses testified that his wife refused to sign the consent and insisted that the tracheal tube of her husband be removed. In the words of one of the doctors, who asked to remain anonymous:

“She was insistent not to want to save him. The pain and anger were palpable.”

The doctors did so at her request, following the stringent legal and ethical guidelines they’re bound to obey, and carried out the due procedures. Life support for the man was switched off, and he died a short while later.

Medical And Legal Complexities

The man suffered cerebral hemorrhaging as a result of the initial stroke; a kind of bleeding in the brain. It is the most serious form of stroke because bleeding occurs within the brain tissue itself, rather than in surrounding organs. Anything from high blood pressure to a simple head injury can cause this and, in very bad cases, emergency surgery might be the only solution to save the patient’s life.

It is Chinese law that doctors explain the potential risks of any surgery to the patient’s family and obtain consent in writing beforehand. The head of the hospital can sign off such practice in cases of disagreement or no family consent, but here there was an all-too-categorical refusal by the wife.

Did this guy have it coming? Or did his wife’s bitterness get the better of her?