I try annually to review my medical and psychiatric advance directive, power of attorney (medical and financial), will, and other end of life considerations to make sure they still reflect my preferences and that those I identify to act on my behalf are named, agree to act on my stead as I desire, and have access to these documents.
Join me in making it easier for those who will help you when (not if) it's needed. We will all wind up at this point. As someone who has had to make arrangements for my brother where there were no legal documents to guide decisions when he died unexpectedly and for my husband who had clear documentation for care that were updated when diagnosed with melanoma and reviewed 6 months prior to his death last yearI know the difference it made in managing both of these estates. It would have pained my brother deeply to know the difficulty he has put his family through due to a lack of guiding documents. It has made a grieving time far more complicated and taxing.
Be brave. Part of taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others is to do the research and planning.
Here is a link to all 50 states free advance directive forms if you need a place to get started. nhpco.org/advancedirective/
Peace,
Missy
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missyrand
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Good advice. I ask occasionally (when checking in for routine procedures) the registration personnel to verify my advanced directives are still on file.
Good additional point! Your providers can’t follow the guidance unless they have the information!Virginia has a statewide electronic repository option where you can also leave your documents on file.
A word of caution....advanced directives apply to any situation once signed. Think twice before making a DNR and AND DNI (Do not incubate) TOGETHER. . If a cancer patient needs respiratory support in the hospital for let’s say pneumonia, and they are not yet in end of life status, you will NOT get respiratory support without an override from the patient or a designated surrogate. In that case, pneumonia would be the cause of death—not the cancer. It happened to us even though we specified we wanted treatment for other medical conditions outside of the end-of-life framework. DNI can always be added later by the family or patient when the time comes. No hospital is going to force a dying patient to be DNI (intubated) when DNR has already been established.
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Brother with stage 3 melanoma 
