Tomorrow is National Healthcare Decisions Day
It's at least as much fun as tax day
Each year on April 16, the National Alliance for Care at Home holds National Healthcare Decisions Day to let people know about their rights to hospice care, home care, and palliative care. If you are incapacitated and your family and your doctors don’t know what you want, they will make decisions without you, and you might not like the outcome. I have been part of hospital conversations about the future course of care for someone else, and there is nothing fun about them. They are a lot easier when everyone in the room has a very clear idea of what the other person would want.
They have a really good web site, CaringInfo.org, with information about different care options, advance directives, and powers of attorney. Check it out and see if you need to send a message to your doctor or your lawyer.
Also remember that things change, for your and the people around you. This isn’t a one-time conversation for most people, so bring it up (as appropriate) with the people around you. When you hear of a celebrity or someone in your circle who has made a care decision, you can use it to start a conversation. Think of the way that the horribly sad news about Gene Hackman’s last days caused a lot of people to rethink their plans to age in place without any outside support.
Someone with very young children may want doctors to do everything possible to keep them alive so that they can spend more time with their kids, even if “everything possible” is grueling. Someone who has had a long and satisfying life may be ready to go rather than endure aggressive treatment. And a lot of people are in the middle.
The best thing is to have it all set out legally, with copies given to your doctor and your next-of-kin. I’m a little behind on that myself, and maybe you are, too. The next best thing is to talk to people who will have to make medical decisions for you.
If you have any comments on this cheery topic, please share in the comments! Otherwise, go to the CaringInfo site, and talk to the people around you.