Advanced Directives
How You Can Protect Your Loved Ones from Painful Decisions
What would you do if someone you cared about
was in critical medical condition and the decision
about what to do next fell on you? If you knew
the person's wishes you could move forward with
confidence, but what if you had no idea what they
would want?
You might struggle with feelings of confusion and
even guilt. In the scenario above you're the
person making the decisions, but in your own life
you could just as easily be the one suffering illness
or injury.
To guarantee your quality of life regardless of what
the future holds, learn about your options and
communicate your end-of-life wishes today.
Doing so ensures that no matter what circum-
stances arise, your preferences guide decisions
and helps protect your loved from having to make
choices that cause them distress.
While the benefits of
advanced care planning are
undeniable, taking action can
be difficult. The best time to
make decisions is well before
you're facing a medical crisis.
It will give you the time you
need to think things through
without feeling rushed and,
if you want to, talk with your
loved ones about their
opinions
Advance Directive
This is what you ultimately
want to create: an advance
directive is a written state-
ment that describes your
wishes, preferences, and
choices regarding end-of-life
health care decisions. It's a
tool that can help you think
What You Should Include
• In the event of chronic or serious ill-
ness, would you want to pursue every
medical avenue available to you?
•What type of pain control do you
want and when should it be adminis-
tered?
•Do you want to set limits on the type
and length of medical treatment?
