Preparing for your Final Hours

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

For the moment, forget about health-reform debates.  You should have a living will that specifies the kind of care for your life if you are unable to speak for yourself.  Ethicists, lawmakers, and doctors have been urging the Americans to do this but in nursing homes, less than half have done so.  Overall, less than one third of American adults also have a living will.

According to a report from Rand Corp. in Congress, many people are baffled by legalities and don’t understand the consequences and options.  In addition, patients and doctors alike are reluctant to bring up the subject of death.

Advance directives are truly for the living as well as for the dying.  Without your specific instructions, your family members may not be able to decide if they would keep you artificially alive, let you die when you have no hope for recovery, or what level of disability you would like to live with.

A registered nurse at Inova Hospital (Falls Church, Va.), Audrey Seeley, said “Everyone knows they will soon die, but it’s scary to think how.  I see many incapacitated patients say that they don’t care what happens to them.  But their family really does.”

Tags: American, Audrey Seeley, Congress, death, die, disability, Inova Hospital, lawmakers, legalities, living will, Rand Corp, Wills
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