[user104658]

Originally Posted by smudgie

She asked for a doctor. Fair enough.
I don't get why her son stayed in his bedroom when his mother was so ill

I'd assume that as she was adamant she wanted just a doctor and not an ambulance, even though she knew she had a heart condition, she was probably the stoic type who "didn't want any fuss" and so probably hadn't even told her son.

There's not a huge amount you can do when someone is adamant... A guy I know (at the time a recently qualified dentist, so some medical training) noticed an infected wound / rash on a pub landlady's arm when we were out a few years ago. He told her that it looked like it might turn septic or already be septic and that she should seek medical attention... She argued that it was nonsense but eventually agreed that she would. She didn't, and was found dead of septicaemia in the back office a few days later.

The guy blamed himself for a while for not insisting more but, at the end of the day, it's down to the individual whether they seek or accept treatment...