People may know what a living will is, but here is the definition from the American Bar Association. “A living will is your written expression of how you want to be treated in certain medical circumstances. Depending on state law, this document may permit you to express whether you wish to be given life-sustaining treatments in the event you are terminally ill or injured, to decide in advance whether you wish to be provided food and water via intravenous devices (“tube feeding”), and to give other medical directions that impact your care, including the end of life.”
So what is an advance healthcare directive, and how is it different from a living will in Cincinnati? An advanced healthcare directive is like a living will, but an advanced directive isn’t restricted to just a terminal illness. Advance healthcare directives can address/include a variety of medical situations such as dementia, stroke, or coma.
Living will or advance healthcare directive? Which is right for you?
I advise having a health care directive covering ALL the situations. And make sure your loved ones, most importantly the individual you designate as your spokesperson, know where that advance directive is located. And further, that your directives are understood. It is an excellent idea to confirm, in advance, that your designated spokesperson understands your wishes and will do what is required of them to ensure they are carried out.
Spare your loved ones.
Time after time, I’ve seen spouses, adult children, or siblings burdened with a medical decision about a critically ill loved one they were not prepared to make – and there wasn’t a living will or advance healthcare directive to turn to for answers.
Even worse is the situation where a decision needs to be made, but family members disagree on what’s “right.” One may want to maintain life at all costs or another to let the individual die naturally.
No one knows what the future holds.
Please think of your loved ones right now … if something happens to you TODAY, do they know what you would want, AND is it in a legally executed document they know where to find. If not, please consider sparing them the potential heartbreak and burden of making the decision not knowing what you would have wanted.
If you don’t have a living will or advance healthcare directive, I hope I’ve motivated you to take action to get one. With offices in Oakley I’m a short drive from just about anywhere in the Greater Cincinnati area and I’d be honored