Advance Medical
Directives - Something to Think About
What are advance medical directives? They are a living
will or a durable power of attorney for health care. Either allows
you to give directions about your future medical care. It is your
right to accept or refuse medical care. Advance directives can
protect this right if you ever become mentally or physically unable
to choose or communicate your wishes due to an injury or illness.
Why learn about advance directives? Because they are valuable tools,
advance directives can help:
YOU -
protect your right to make medical choices that can affect your
life.
YOUR
FAMILY - avoid the responsibility and stress of making
difficult decisions.
YOUR
PHYSICIAN - provides guidelines for your care.
Advance Directives can limit
life-prolonging measures when there's little or no chance of
recovery. Advance directives may enable one to make their feelings
known about many things. It is important to know the Definitions of commonly used words
in healthcare:
Cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) - used to restore breathing and/or
heartbeat. A phrase used for some one who does not want CPR is
DNR or Do Not Resuscitate.
Intravenous (IV)
Therapy - used to provide nutrients, water, and/or
medication through a tube in a vein.
Feeding
Tubes - inserted through the nose, throat or abdomen to
provide nutrition.
Respirators
- machines used to keep individuals breathing
Dialysis - a
method of cleaning an individual’s blood by machine, when the
kidneys no longer work properly.
Let your values be your guide
when creating advance directives. Consider what is important to you.
Which of these statements express how you would feel
if you were near death? It is important for me to:
-
die without pain and
suffering.
-
leave my family with good
memories.
-
act according to my
religious beliefs.
-
be able to make my own
decisions.
-
not burden my family with
difficult decisions.
-
be with my loved
ones at death.
Discuss your
wishes with your family and friends, your physician, your faith
community leader, your lawyer.
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