Make Your Choice Now
I posted this message on our network at Ryze, but feel so strong about it, I wanted to bring it up here. This situation is almost completely avoidable. Taking care of business prior to such an event will save trouble and heart ache for those that love us, not to mention ouselves!
I have been reading bits and pieces about the drama in Florida where a woman, in a persistent vegetative state appears to be at the center of a struggle between her husband and her parents. It seems that her husband would like the feeding tube removed, stating that his wife, severely brain damaged after a cardiac event (Feb 1990), would not want to live this way. The parents disagree and feel she will improve.
Whether you side with the husband or the parents, no one can deny this is a situation that should not have happened. You and I can prevent this sort of thing by drawing up a Advanced Health Care Directive (living will and a health care power of attorney), making sure our families/significant others and health care providers know what our wishes are.
I’ve written about this in the past and will refer you to that article . If you feel you need legal advice about this issue, I encourage you to see an attorney. If that you have difficulty in finding an attorney at a reasonable cost, I highly recommend Pre-Paid Legal, a service I started using and am very pleased with.
Least you think you are not old enough to think about making these arrangements let me remind you that this woman is 41 years of age, making her 31 when this occurred. It’s never too early to get in writing what you want (and you can change it as often as you want). The problem is that sometimes these decisions are not made until it is too late.
Take care of yourself and your family. Take care of your business now.
