I wondered how boomers feel about living wills. They are written directives as to what efforts should be made to save a person's life in the event of what appears to be irreversible coma or other irreversibly fatal condition.

Do any of us have them?
Do our parents have them?
How far do we want the medical profession to go to save US should our we appear to have no possibility for any quality of life?
What heroic should the medical profession be in saving us if our quality of life would be impacted?

What would we want for our loved ones?
What would we want for ourselves?

Do we understand the impact of having or not having a written living will?

It's something we may encounter for our parents, ourselves or our spouse. It is literally the difference between life and death and has physical, emotional, and spiritual impact.

Just wondered.
smile

[ January 25, 2006, 12:17 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]

I have a Living Will. Both of my parents, now deceased, had Living Wills. Living Wills empower us to direct precisely what treatment/care we wish for ourselves should we not be able to express that FOR ourselves. Everyone should consider this on an individual basis of course and there are so many options.

It's a HUGE thing to sit down and consider but very important and something to be shared with your family so everyone is "on the same page".

Living Wills and Power of Attorney designations are important documents as we age...at least that's my opinion. Making decisions for ourselves when we are capable of doing so, releases our family from that responsibility AND ensures we get the care we would wish for ourselves when the time comes.

I think Living Wills (or Advance Directives if you prefer) are important for everyone to have, no matter what your preference about intervention. Families need to know what your wishes are should you not be able to voice them, and it needs to be in writing so there will be no room for arguments when or if the time comes.

Both Chuck and I have them, as does my mother. Supposedly his mother has one, too, although we've never seen it. My father had one, and we used it to make decisions about his final care. Such decisions are always difficult, but knowing what your loved on wants makes it a lot easier.

Just my opinion.

I went through this with both my parents one did not have one and the other had the living will.
We listened really close to the one who did not way before and found out what they wanted.
The one with the living will made so many decisions easier on both the professional staff and the family.
Maggie

If there are other sibblings you must have a living will to fall back on especially if you are the caregiver OR they can hold up any process. When my sister was in hospital and the 3 doctors said "if it were their relative they would let her go." They asked if there were any other family members and I said "no!" There are 4 others but none in the 5 years she was under my care so much as called her to say hello, how are you? I also ran into that at the funeral home when doing as she asked and having her creamated. They too asked about other family members having a say. I again said "nope no one but us." Mother told me time and again to do what I saw fit hen the time came. But you can see that this could be a real can of worms especially when some sibblings can't even agree on what day it is, LOL!

It appears to be an unthinkable decision to place on loved ones at an extremely difficult time. It often leads to disagreement and blaming of family members.

The forms used by hospitals are often confusing and difficult to complete with all kinds of options some of which it would be foolish to implement without the others.

It is also a confusing legal issue for medical personnel. They can be held criminally liable for 'not' resusitating a patient who has no written Do Not Resusitate (DNR), Advance Directive, or Living Will specifying that they not be resusitated.

They can also be held liable for the continued medical costs for a patient who 'has' specified in writing that they do not want to be resusitated.

Resusitation can save a patient and patients have recovered from vegetative states after long periods of coma, but they can also save patients for a life of nothingness.

It's a difficult call.

smile