July Meme, Day 22
The last few questions have had a nice variety and it is a serious subject for today's.
22. Do you have a living will or other documentation of an end-of-life care plan?
I have a will. We wrote our wills as soon as we bought our house. It seemed like the sensible thing to do.
But for my own end of life care, no. I don't have a so called living will. And even if I did, living wills have no standing in law.
Plus, it is only sensible to acknowledge that circumstances change cases and should be taken into account. What I now think might not be a quality of life worth living with, I might feel very differently about if I were faced with the actual situation.
My grandmother had dementia and I know people who say that they would not want to go on living in such a circumstance. But she had not been a happy person in many ways, but in her dementia she almost always had a smile on her face and in her moments of lucidity she was gentle and kind. I would not have robbed her of those years of peace and I only hope she was re-writing her life memories to make them come out right.
An active person at the height of their physical powers might imagine that they would not want to live if they were dependent on others for their physical needs, but if they broke their necks they may suddenly discover that there are other things in life that have value.
I do know that when a person ends up with a terminal condition of any kind, be it cancer, heart failure, or the complex medical issues associated with old age, there will always be the conversation with the doctor about "what do you want to happen if...?" and I'm good with that.
In my experience, the doctors are good at that, too. They are both unflinching and sensitive. Honest and caring. Uncompromising and compassionate. They are just bloody good at what they do and I am grateful.
So no, I don't have a living will and I don't plan to have one. I will face those decisions if and when circumstances require. And if I am incapable of communicating my intention at the time, and medical science is unable to communicate with me to ask, I will live or die with the consequences, because that is also a fact of life - sometimes it is outside your own control.
22. Do you have a living will or other documentation of an end-of-life care plan?
I have a will. We wrote our wills as soon as we bought our house. It seemed like the sensible thing to do.
But for my own end of life care, no. I don't have a so called living will. And even if I did, living wills have no standing in law.
Plus, it is only sensible to acknowledge that circumstances change cases and should be taken into account. What I now think might not be a quality of life worth living with, I might feel very differently about if I were faced with the actual situation.
My grandmother had dementia and I know people who say that they would not want to go on living in such a circumstance. But she had not been a happy person in many ways, but in her dementia she almost always had a smile on her face and in her moments of lucidity she was gentle and kind. I would not have robbed her of those years of peace and I only hope she was re-writing her life memories to make them come out right.
An active person at the height of their physical powers might imagine that they would not want to live if they were dependent on others for their physical needs, but if they broke their necks they may suddenly discover that there are other things in life that have value.
I do know that when a person ends up with a terminal condition of any kind, be it cancer, heart failure, or the complex medical issues associated with old age, there will always be the conversation with the doctor about "what do you want to happen if...?" and I'm good with that.
In my experience, the doctors are good at that, too. They are both unflinching and sensitive. Honest and caring. Uncompromising and compassionate. They are just bloody good at what they do and I am grateful.
So no, I don't have a living will and I don't plan to have one. I will face those decisions if and when circumstances require. And if I am incapable of communicating my intention at the time, and medical science is unable to communicate with me to ask, I will live or die with the consequences, because that is also a fact of life - sometimes it is outside your own control.