Today is one of the least fun holidays, National Healthcare Decisions Day. Ugh, right?
Legal paperwork and healthcare jargon are boring and often unnecessarily complex. They also force us to consider circumstances that we’d rather not think about. It’s uncomfortable and depressing.
However . . .
Establishing your preferences NOW, plus recording them legally and discussing with them your family, will save your behind if you get hit by a truck tomorrow. You’ll get the treatments you want while avoiding confusion and second guessing among your next of kin. This is equally important whether you’re temporarily incapacitated or actively dying.
Do you want to be kept on life support? Until when?
Do you want comfort care?
Do you want a “do not resuscitate” order?
Are there any other treatments you’d decline?
Do you want to donate organs or tissue? Do you have any restrictions on what your donate?
Another important point: is your LEGAL NEXT OF KIN a jerk? You can assign these decision making powers to someone else who will respect your wishes. Doing this paperwork properly allows you to legally bypass dysfunctional family members in the next of kin chain.
Choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if/when you are incapacitated or dead. It helps if they’re local to you, are capable of making decisions under stress, and are willing to advocate for you based on YOUR beliefs rather than theirs.
The same person (or different people) can be authorized to make financial and funeral decisions too.
Find out what the laws are in your state. There’s probably a cookie-cutter type form online (healthcare directive or medical power of attorney) which you can tweak to suit your needs. It you can afford it, get some basic legal advice to make sure you’ve covered all your bases.
I have some links and general info about protecting your end of life decisions here:
https://www.louisepachella.com/blog/rightsvsrites
Don’t wait until it’s too late!
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