The New Zealand government has been making big funding cuts to the New Zealand health budget. One of the results is that they won't provide oxygen to any long term patients under age 50, for any more than 13 weeks. Once the patient reaches Stage 4 (of any illness), they are no longer entitled to any oxygen at all. The government provides morphine as a supplement.
Karlene is given Prednisone for 2-3 weeks every 3 months, alongside the morphine. She also has an inhaler, and a nebulizer.
The morphine is already at the maximum dose the government will allow. Therefore, the doctors will INDUCE the coma, so Karlene doesn't suffer through the final parts of her COPD. This is based on Karlene's own request to be kept comfortable at the end.
If you have access to Facebook, Karlene can be contacted on her support page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/543682275771871

Karlene may be able to explain it a bit better than I can. To me, some of the Ministry of Health's policies don't seem to make sense.
I hope this answers some of your questions.