http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-20/explore-final-moments-dying-man-who-chose-end-his-own-life
Questions to guide end of life conversations:
- http://associationdatabase.com/aws/MCA/asset_manager/get_file/73442/conversations_revision_jan_2014.pdf
- http://www.dyingwell.org/faq.htm
- http://theconversationproject.org/
- National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
- http://www.nhpco.org/advance-care-planning
- http://www.nhpco.org/resources/end-life-care--resources
State of Ohio packet of information --and a series of questions -- about end of life
http://associationdatabase.com/aws/MCA/asset_manager/get_file/73442/conversations_revision_jan_2014.pdf
Commonwealth of Kentucky Living Will packet
http://ag.ky.gov/civil/consumerprotection/livingwills/Documents/livingwillpacket.pdf
State of Illinois Living Will template
http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/books/Livin.PDF
The link for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Living Will Packet didn't work. I was able to find the packet using this link: http://ag.ky.gov/family/consumerprotection/livingwills/Documents/livingwillpacket.pdf
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to me that an Act was only passed in Kentucky in 1994 ensuring people the right to make decisions regarding their medical care, including the right to accept or refuse treatment. Shouldn't we automatically be granted control over every aspect of our own medical care without creating legislation? Completing a living will when young and/or healthy may seem unnecessary. However, a sudden and unexpected event is more likely to result in a condition that challenges our ability to communicate than age-associated health deterioration. Now is the perfect time to complete a living will, while the topic is fresh in our minds. Imagine making the decisions addressed in a living will for a parent, sibling or spouse. Then imagine the same people making those decisions for you. I do not want to place that burden on the people I love. A living will is a gift to loved ones when they are in great distress. It is the only comfort I can provide them if there is a reason to consult my living will.
Interestingly, a final will and testament also does not have to be prepared by a lawyer in the state of Kentucky. If it is fully handwritten by the decedent, the only testimony needed to make the will legal is proof of the handwriting by someone familiar with it. This is discussed on page 2 of the KY Probate Guide, which can be found here:
http://courts.ky.gov/resources/publicationsresources/Publications/P88ProbateGuideforProSeLitigants609.pdf
I agree, I found that very shocking as well, that the Act wasn't passed everywhere, we all have the right to decide what we want during life and at the end of life.
DeleteEnd of life decisions and physician assisted suicide are not easy topics to discuss. However, would we really want our families to make those decisions for us because we are unable too. I think not. I do believe living wills are a helpful tool and legislation that allows the true wishes of the dying person to be fulfilled without putting extra stress on members of the family. Its a hard process that is not easy to talk about so its good to have an all encompassing document that covers all the bases if were to find yourself confronting death.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement, i do believe that everyone should have a living will. I know it would be hard to make any decisions for a family member that was dying, with out truly knowing what they would want. Also I would not want anyone in my family to have to deal with a hard time of my dying and then to add hard decisions that could leave guilt, if they did not know what I would want. I think that if living wills were used more, then in the time of someone dying the time can be spent more will family then having to discuss such hard decisions.
DeleteJake, I completely agree with using living wills because it does serve to fulfill the wishes of the dying person. Different loved ones may have different wishes for the dying person- whether it be to have the dying person continue their fight or "pull the plug"- regardless of the choice, the dying person is getting what they want. I also agree with time being spent more with family and cherishing those final moments with your family rather than discussing hard choices.
DeleteAfter reading your comment on the end of life decisions and taking into note the understanding of making the decision to have a will i agree fully. People who are have pain and are suffering that can no longer live a comfortable life should have a will before dying. The stress that the patient and the patients family are going through is already taking a toll on them physically and mentally to take the next step into the death would be much easier if the patient has a will prior to death. The reality of it, obviously no one wants to bring up the conversation but there are more realizing factors that life is soon coming to an end so lets start taking action in what is proper for a family in that type of a situation. Once the will is created it gives more focus on the appreciation of life more than things surrounded by it with the families.
DeleteWhen I think about end of life decisions I feel myself getting emotional. I can only imagine what it is actually like to end another person’s life. In reviewing the end of life links I came across a story about a woman who only had one son. He was in a car accident that out him in a coma. His mom lived about 600 hundred miles away and had to fly in to see him. Prior to the car accident her son had discussed some end of life decisions with her because of a previous surgery she had. They discussed that they both didn’t want to be kept on life support. His mom did what they discussed and removed all lifesaving support.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom I hope I never have to face this decision. Raising a son is part of who I am as a person. I would have a hard time making that decision but I would not keep him alive if he did not have a chance of recovery. Reading over the living will from the state of Kentucky I think that organ donation would be the most difficult decision. The options they provide in this section is interesting. For example someone may donate skin. I am for organ donation but skin is too much for me. I think we have enough technology now that skin is artificially created. We don’t need to take the lower portion of the trunk off someone and put it who knows where.
I think making a living will is something everyone should think about. It takes the stress off of the family members who have to make decisions at that time. Families are already upset that something has happened to their loved one, taking these decisions out of the picture helps them to cope better.
It is an emotional process when thinking about living wills and end of life decisions. Finding out what the patient or person near death wants is critically important in my eyes to provide closure to families and the certainty that the choice they made was in the best interest of the family member near death. Organ donation is a whole other subject. I completely support organ donation in its completeness - living and post mortem. My mom donated a kidney, luckily due to the fact she was a perfect match. She saved a life. Im all for donating whatever I can when I die. If it comes down to my skin, then just take what you need, just not any portion of my skin that can be seen in the casket. The skin will go to waste and decompose if not donated quickly. I don't think it matters how it leaves the deceased, just as long as you can't see what was removed and all that depends on the garments the deceased is wearing in the casket. Some religions or beliefs say that donating any part of the body is a sin and not allowed. However, I completely disagree. My response would be that the taking of a life, death can help bring new life or improve quality of life through organ donation. Im all for it.
DeleteI totally agree with you Laura living wills are so important to have! i have no idea if i could make a decision like that for someone else. i would want to have their wishes fulfilled. i hope that all of my loved ones having living wills so i never have to make that decisoin
Deletehttp://www.pri.org/stories/2014-11-20/explore-final-moments-dying-man-who-chose-end-his-own-life
ReplyDeleteExplore the final moments of a dying man who chose to end his own life
This article mainly talks about Ben Wald, a 75 year old man who was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. This time around though Ben's cancer was stage four lung cancer. Eventually the cancer started to have some serious painful effects on his body so he decided that he wanted to explore Oregon's death with dignity law. Ben ended up being approved for it all and eventually took his. Through this all his wife was there for him this whole time, supporting him in everything that he wished to do. I feel like that had to have been one of the hardest things to go through for his wife. I couldn't imagine having to deal with a husband's cancer for the second time but not only that but to have to see him die as well has to be extremely hard. But one of Ben's last words was "Thank you" when he took the medication, so that right there really showed just how much at peace he was to die and not have to suffer anymore. It really makes you think about the hard topic of physician assisted suicide and end of life decisions overall, especially in cases like this one where the guy was terminally ill and was suffering from it too with little chance to live. The situation is just hard too because no one wants to suffer themselves or see a loved one suffer but it's hard to see them have to die in the way that Ben did too.
This emotional connection between a patient requesting death and approving physician assisted suicide nationwide will continue to be an issue for years to come. When you hear stories like this with Ben and how he so desperately wanted to escape his terminal suffering to be at rest, you can't help but wonder why any patient everywhere couldn't request it if they properly qualified for it. Yes, taking your own life or approving your doctor to give you medicine to end your life would be the hardest task out there but I can never really imagine how much suffering a patient may be going through at that time. I think physician assisted suicide should be legalized everywhere with strict regulations and guidelines. First off, I think it gives a coherent patient the choice to end their suffering and gives them that choice if they deem it the right choice for themselves allowing the family to feel peace as well. Another reason is that I think it could cut down on medical treatment costs and save lots of money and do away with medical procedures that are wasted on terminally ill patients every year.
DeleteEnd of life decisions take a toll on the family and the dying person. The decisions that need to be made are not always easy to be made in the moment. The end of life is an emotionally draining time for the family and the person. That is why I believe setting a plan before dying is important. Creating a living will is a perfect way to make this happen. It allows everyone to be able to have their care guided the way they planned and the way they want when the time comes. I believe that this would help the family enormously when the time comes. Knowing what the individual wants helps take the burden off of the family. I also believe that euthanasia should be an option for those who are terminally ill and are in pain. Such as Brittney Maynard. She had terminal brain cancer and was in pain. It was her choice to die and it was relief to her to have the option to end the pain when she felt it was needed. Just having the option available could help ease the minds of others. I think that it should be legalized in all states so that the option is there but I also believe that there should be rules set in place as to who could use the option. The rules should be that the patient must be terminally ill with a disease causing them physical and emotional pain. In thinking about my own end of life decisions I find it very hard to place myself in the situation. It is almost impossible to think about but I think it is very important for everyone to know what they want at the end of their life and have it recorded somewhere to ensure that these things you want are carried out.
ReplyDeleteI believe the best way to address the topic of end of life decisions is to make a living will. Most people would like to think that our family members will always make the correct decisions in our favor if we are unable to but this isn’t always true. Like I was talking to my father the other day about end of life decisions just in passing because I had mentioned that I was in this class and I was surprised to find that we disagreed in nearly all aspects of end of life decision making. He didn’t believe in cremation or donating organs, and our views on life prolonging care also differed. So from this experience I believe the safest way to ensure your wishes be met when you are unable to speak for yourself is to plan ahead.
ReplyDeleteAs many people have already said before- I think making a living will and planning out your wishes is the best way to make sure your wishes are granted. Though your family might not agree with your wishes, it does make the family less stressed.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to make an end of life decisions is for a person to have a living will, as many people have said. I think it is important for family members to not have to make that decision for you, it is a hard one and one they may never forgive themselves for if they never know if it was what the person wanted. Living wills make end of life decisions easier on the family and the person, because you know exactly what that person wants. This is just the best way to make sure what you want it what you will get, and save the burden of making such a hard decision from your family. Even with the living will though I don't think that anyone can ever be fully prepared to deal with end of life decisions, people may change their mind, and it will still be hard on the family to watch the person go through whatever they chose, I think you can have a million conversations about what you want and still not be ready.
ReplyDeleteI know that I am eager to have this conversation with members of my family because this class has caused me to "stress" over my end of life decisions and those of my parents or brother. I know that I do not want to feel stuck and put in a position, where my wants are not the same as those of my parents. Yeah, these conversations could potentially be awkward or could create tension with conflicting views, but at least it is out there, in case a situation would arise where someone would need to step in and make the executive, life or death situation.
ReplyDeleteThat is how i feel as well! i am going to make sure that i know what my family members want and i am going to make sure that they know what i want!
DeleteI know that end of life decisions can be very difficult for a family and love ones. I feel that it is very important to have a living will incase anything would ever happen. I would never want to put my family in a tough decision, because I know death itself is very difficult to handle. Living wills make end of life decisions easier on the family because they know exactly what you would want. This saves the family such a burden from making a difficult decision. It also helps them to move on, free from regret if there are any. I am glad we had this conversation in class because it made me more aware of how important it really is to have a living will. It is a very touchy subject to some, but should be done incase of any accidents. It is hard, but it is reality and I believe we should try to be the most prepared for it.
ReplyDeleteEnd of life decisions is definitely not an easy topic to discuss. I feel like most families don’t want to talk about it because they don’t want to be depressing or make people become sad because of the topic. In reality it is very important to have these talks with your family so that they know what you want. My mom always tells us never to put her on life support because she doesn’t want to live like that. by making a living will it makes the person’s family’s decision easier. They don’t have to worry about thinking what would this person want? Instead they already know what the person wants. I think that it is so important to have a living will so that you can have your wishes fulfilled and it doesn’t have to be extra stressful for the family. I don’t know if I could ever make the decision on what to do if one of my families was on life support. I would want what’s best for them but I would have a hard time deciding to take them off. I don’t know if I could make that decision. That is why I am going to make sure that I have a living will so that if I was ever in that situation my family would know what I wanted.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have never talked much about my end of life decisions. We have talked about his because he is a police officer and once Sonny Kim was murdered it became and very surreal thing that this could happen to him. We purchased a life insurance policy on him to make sure I would be ok after and we discussed what he would like for a funeral. I think we should sit down and do the same for me because you never know what could happen from day to day. You may live the most normal and routine life but it could all change in an instant. It is all God's plan and not our own.
ReplyDeleteTalking to your family and friends about your end of life wishes is difficult, but it is very important. This class has made me want to write a living will and talk to my parents about my end of life plans. I do not think I would ever be able to ask for physicians assisted suicide or take the pills. I do know I do not want to be on life support for an extended amount of time, around one month would be enough for me. I would like to be resuscitated but only once, if it doesn't work or I need it another time, I wouldn't want it.
ReplyDeleteTalking to my family about my end of life is not fun. But it is something that you need to do. I like the website from the commonwealth of Kentucky. It talks about living wills and what and how you should go about getting one in the state of KY. I like that it explains the four different things that you get to decide when you create a will. I also like that the will gets put on file at the hospital. That leads to no confusion for the patients friends and family and the hospital if something were to happen.
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