As in “Veronika Decides to Die,” Why Would a Girl with a Death Sentence Have to Stay at the Hospital?
Veronika’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) suicide attempt at the introduction of Veronika Decides to Die (2009) fails, but she’s told it caused an aneurysm that will lead to her death within a week or two. Instead of being allowed to return home, set her affairs in order, and do what people would normally do when given this information, she’s required to stay at the hospital and undergo verbal therapy sessions with Dr. Blake (David Thewlis). It calls into question the news of Veronika’s fate being a lie, which ends up being the case.
Veronika’s parents aren’t informed about the aneurysm. Dr. Blake says he won’t tell them because Veronika asked him not to, but it’s likely because he knows it’s not true, and he knows she won’t tell them. At that point in the film, she’s freshly suicidal and still inclined to die. She’s still convinced she’s going to kill herself before the alleged aneurysm kicks in, so telling her parents is pointless.
As an audience in the real world, we know that it’s very unlikely Veronika would be kept in this hospital if she truly had a week to live. The film’s big revelation is the reveal that Veronika is healthy, but by that point it’s apparent she isn’t going to die.