Living Wills: One Patient's Experience

Living Wills: One Patient's Experience
by Sherry Okonski - Contributor

In the fall of 1996, I went to West Penn Hospital for what I thought were some simple tests. I couldn't catch my breath when I walked across the room. After a heart cath, a lung cath, and a lot of other tests I was told I had Pulmonary Hypertension from blood clots in my lungs. I went home and prepared to go to San Diego for the only operation that could save my life.

However before that occurred, I was life-flighted back to Pittsburgh when I almost bled to death. After an emergency hysterectomy I spent thirty-eight days in the hospital. It was during that time that I started thinking about how I wanted my health care to go if I survived and was able to have the PTE (Pulmonary Thromboendarectomy). If you feel strongly like I do about having a say in your health care right to the very end, you need to take the time to execute a Living Will and a medical power of attorney.

A Living Will, or advanced directive, is the way to see that your wishes are carried out in the event you are faced with a major disability or chronic illness. Why leave those emotionally laden decisions to your family? If you are in the same situation that I was, not knowing what your future holds, you need to take charge now before you become incapacitated. None of us can anticipate every situation that might arise. A Living Will communicates to your family, your primary care physician, and any medical specialist what your wishes are.

Most states differ in their regulations, so you need to find the regulations for your particular state. To have an effective Living Will you must do some serious thinking. If you feel strongly about what you would want done under certain medical circumstances you need to spell them out. What life sustaining measures such as mechanical respiration and artificial feeding do you want? It is best to discuss these options with your health care professional. Once you have made those decisions you need to put those wishes in writing. These documents need to be witnessed. Keep them in a secure place. Then give copies to everyone involved in your health care: your physician, your designated agent, and trusted family member. Have the documents added to your medical records. If you travel to a medical center in another state like I do, you should consider completing the document required for that state.

The second step in this process is declaring a medical power of attorney. The focus of a medical of power of attorney is to identify who will make the decision about care if you become unable to express your wishes. Take your time. Consider who you might choose as your agent. I chose a family member, but not everyone is able to handle these situations. When you make that choice you need to be sure they understand what you want to happen in the event you cannot make those wishes known. This person is taking the responsibilities of seeing that your Living Will is carried out. Refer to your own state's rules for forms, signatures and witnesses.

Make of your choices well documented and revise them annually because medical care is forever changing. Review them with you health care providers and your proxy. If you have taken an active hand in your health care, this is the way you can be sure that all you decisions are carried out.

The Internet has a wealth of information to aid in making these decisions. One of the best ones I found was Advance directives -- Making your wishes known at Mayo Clinic Health Oasis. Using your search engines and typing in "Living Will" or "Advance Directives", you will get some places to go for state specific information.

No one likes to think about the dying, but it is a fact of life. Having what I call "having all you ducks in order" makes for a little peace of mind, not only for you but those you leave behind.

November 20, 1999

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