Living Wills, Advance Directives, Durable power of attorney, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, treating the person versus treating the disease, are you familiar with these terms, what they mean, how applied? Okay, so we’re back to talking about death and taxes, only this time more about death than taxes.
Death! I know. It’s an uncomfortable subject for many. But it happens—will happen. That’s life.
About once a month our church has a potluck after service and sometimes we’ll have a guest speaker. This month we had guests from the local Hospice, “Home Care & Hospice of the Montgomery Healthcare system.” Our guests, a Hospice Chaplain and a Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, were very informative and yet they barely scratched the surface of the things that we ought to know about and be prepared to deal with, when it comes to dealing with terminal illness and eventual death in a family.
For example, do you and your loved one(s) have an “Advance Directive” that spells out or outlines what kind of health treatment you want to receive should you ever be in a critical condition and are unable to tell the medical team yourself what you desire as far as the extent of medical treatment and resuscitation attempts? If not, does your spouse and/or other family loved ones actually have any idea as to how you might want to be treated—let’s say if you are declared brain damaged, for example, as a result of an auto accident? I know, these are uncomfortable questions and scenarios, but, uncomfortable as they are, they require honest attention. And, that’s the point.
Modern medicine and medical technology has actually increased the trauma and burden of dealing with death and dying issues in some ways. A medical team can resuscitate a person whose heart has stopped even after fifteen long minutes of no heartbeat. We have feeding tubes and other wires and gadgets that we connect to a person’s body in order to keep the body alive and heart pumping, regardless of the vegetative state of the mind. How, when, or who decides to “pull the plug” on Mom, Dad, Granny, or beloved Aunt Sally?
Most families are unprepared for such traumatic decisions. They are often reeling from the suddenness of its onslaught or are unable to deal with the inevitable, not willing to come to terms with end-of-life issues. Nevertheless, a family that openly talks about it and intentionally processes these things beforehand—what they want or do not want to be done to them respecting healthcare treatment in the face of a worst case scenario—is far better off, and far more emotionally, spiritually, and mentally healthy for doing so.
Speak to your doctor and/or your spiritual adviser, pastor or priest, about end of life care, death and dying decisions, Advance Directives and Living Wills. You will be glad that you did before you are faced with such decisions. After all, death and dying is in fact part of living.
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