This freedom of choice, Gawande states, ultimately places a burden on the doctor or patient as the patient ultimately chooses a course of treatment that is ultimately harmful as in Lazaroff's case , a patient with only a few weeks to live, but rather insists on “the day he goes back to work”. Despite the terrible risks and limited potential benefits described by the neurosurgeon, Lazaroff continued to opt for surgery and ultimately died painfully following the surgery. Gawande suggests that Lazaroff "chose poorly because his choice went against his deepest interests", namely living despite the remaining time of the briefing, ultimately distorting his judgment in choosing a course of treatment that ultimately ended his life in a much more painful way. Another case of patient decisions that Gawande discusses is that of Mr. Howe, who aggressively refused to be put on a ventilator, overlooking the fact that "with antibiotics and a little high-tech support... he would recover completely". While Gawande and K waited for Mrs. Howe's decision to save her husband's life, Mrs. Howe emotionally collapses.