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LIVING LONG: DEATH WITH DIGNITY.MAKING WANTED ADVANCES

on April 23rd, 2009 by admin

There was a time when doctors were applauded for doing everything humanly possible to keep us alive. Then medical technology blasted off like the starship Enterprise into realms where no man had gone before, allowing gravely ill people with no hope for recovery to be sustained on machines almost indefinitely.

That’s a fate that many of us have come to fear more than death itself. “Most people want to die with dignity,” says Ron Aldrich, president and chief executive officer of Advance Directives International, a business designed to educate people about living wills and other so-called advance directives. “And being allowed to waste away on life-support machines is not what they have in mind.”

You can make sure that your wishes are carried out in two simple ways-a living will and a durable health-care power of attorney, says Aldrich. The one you choose depends upon your circumstances.

Living will. A living will is a document that lets you put in writing which medical treatments you want and which you do not want at the end of your life. Contrary to misperceptions, that does not mean that you will be denied emergency care that could save your life.

“People often ask, ‘Will 911 respond to my call once I have a living will?’” says Steven A. Litz, an attorney in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who practices in the areas of elder law and estate planning. “The answer is absolutely. You’ll always receive emergency medical care and be transported to the hospital.” Living wills come into play only when you have a condition that will cause death no matter what the doctors do. You’re in a coma. Or you’re in what doctors call a persistent vegetative state-your body will work, but your brain will not. Living wills are concerned only with processes that prolong the dying process, as respirators and feeding tubes often do.

Even then, the doctors will pull out the living will only if you can no longer speak for yourself.

Durable health-care power of attorney. This document allows you to put someone you trust in charge of your health care in case you aren’t able to make decisions yourself. “This is a good document to have in cases where you’re incapacitated, but you’re far from dead, as is often the case with people who have Alzheimer’s disease or brain damage,” Aldrich says. Durable health-care powers of attorney cover a wide array of health-care issues, including admitting or discharging you to a nursing home or hospital, accepting or denying treatments, donating your organs, ordering an autopsy, and even making arrangements should you die. “It’s very important that this person know exactly how you want to be treated,” Aldrich says. “So you need to tell them-in writing.” There are legal forms you can fill out that make your wishes clear in a wide array of medical situations. You can also choose more than one agent so that one can act as a backup.

Don’t know where to start? There are numerous places that provide advance-directive services. Try the Department of Aging in your county, your local hospital, or a specialized advance-directive firm. Or just see your lawyer, says Aldrich.

Check your church. Most religions support advance directives, says Aldrich, who frequently fields this question. Some religions, however, have reservations about such documents, particularly living wills. To be certain, he recommends that you check with your minister, priest, rabbi, or spiritual leader if that’s a concern for you.

Talk to your doc. It’s a good idea to tell your doctor about your advance directive not only so that he knows that this document exists should it become necessary but also because some doctors may not agree with your wishes. Doctors do not have to honor advance directives if they conflict with their own religious or spiritual beliefs. If your doctor has a conflict, he should be able to direct you to a health-care provider who will honor your wishes.

Spread the word. Once you’ve signed a living will, Aldrich recommends giving copies to family members, close friends, clergy, your doctor, or anyone else who might be called upon to carry out your wishes or to help make end-of-life decisions for you.

Keep it current. If you have a sudden change of heart about your directive, be sure to change your form as well as your mind, Aldrich advises. “Advance directives are living documents that can be altered, but you have to tell everyone who has a copy, especially your doctor, so that they can tear up the old one and replace it with a current form,” he says.

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