This is a good article from today’s “Washington Post” (washingtonpost.com) on why people may not complete a living will. The author makes the point that even if you don’t have a living will, everyone (healthy or not) should designate in writing a healthcare proxy and, ideally, have a discussion with the proxy about end-of-life wishes.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
* Even though advance directives have been promoted for nearly 50 years, only about a third of U.S. adults have them, according to a recent study. People with chronic illnesses were only slightly more likely than healthy individuals to document their wishes.
* “Many people don’t sign advance directives because they worry they’re not going to get any care if they say they don’t want” cardiopulmonary resuscitation, said the study’s senior author, Katherine Courtright, an instructor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania. “It becomes this very scary document that says, ‘Let me die.'”
* That’s where the health-care proxy comes in. Just naming someone isn’t enough, though. To be effective, people need to have conversations with their proxy and other loved ones to talk about their values and what matters to them at the end of life.
The full article is worth reading:
www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/even-healthy-people-need-a-living-will-but-many-people-dont-want-to-think-about-it/2017/08/04/121f99ac-76d3-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html
Even healthy people need a living will, but many people don’t want to think about it
By Michelle Andrews
Washington Post
August 7, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Robin
