What does the future hold? Do we honestly know what tomorrow will bring? We all know that we can not honestly answer these questions with a yes. We know that no one can predict the future. We do, however, live in a world of, "It will never happen to me." We plan for our retirements better then we do the final act of which ends our lives. When we do get concerned about this it is in regards to our finances and our kids after we leave this world. Making sure our wills are done and our kids are taken care of are becoming more of something people are concerned about. We falter at this, but not like we do living wills. We can more fathom we will die, then we can fathom we will lay in a bed with no brain waves waiting for something to happen while families fight over what is the best way for us to leave this world. Sometimes we can survive many years while families decide over what is to be done with us when it could have all been avoided by a simple piece of paper expressing our views.
Remember Terri Shiavo. She laid in a bed for 15 years while her husband tried in every way to kill her and her parents tried to save her. Terri's was a bit different then most. She lived 15 years. No life support systems were keeping her alive. The only thing she required was a feeding tub and hydration. Her case has caused many people to go out and start putting their living wills together and that is good. At least something good came out of this case.
Let me further add some fuel to encourage people to get their Living Wills done. I have Multiple Sclerosis which is moving and progressing pretty rapidly at the moment. I have recently been having blackouts where I loose time. Once I begin to come out of it, I have no clue who I am or where I am.
After this began, I called my Case Manager who handles my home health care. He told me to get things done with my living will. That is exactly what I did. With my disease, I could end up in a place where my brain ceases to function. I know that getting this done will be vital to my family. Why make them decide at a time when their emotions are frayed, to let doctors end my suffering or keep me going?
None of us know what will happen. It takes only minutes for your life to forever change. A bad accident or illness can lay this right in your lap. No Living Will means Doctors and an emotional Family have to decide how long or when to stop treating you. It is a small effort to make sure your wishes are followed when you can no longer make these decisions.
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