Greetings one and all! I am hoping you are doing well and enjoying the spring season that is unfoldi...

1. Plan For Life
Greetings one and all! I am hoping you
are doing well and enjoying the spring
season that is unfolding.
Delay! I know what you're thinking. This
is NOT something you want to think
about. Medical care choices and end-o-
-life choices are daunting and emotionally
charged, to say the least. But if we re-
frame the conversation, maybe you'll be
more prone to embrace the planning
procedure.
Rather than thinking about various passing scenarios, look at the endless choices for LIFE! Planning
for LIFE is an infinitely more appealing and productive tactic. How do you prefer to RESIDE before
the finish of the road? You must plan nicely, to ensure that your wishes become your reality.
Over the past eleven years, numerous programs were presented by me on advance directives--legal
documents that indicate preferences for medical care and end-of-life care that become powerful
when a person is incapacitated. Without exception, the biggest challenge was enticing people to
attend. Most people simply do not desire to "go there." It's projected that only 25-30% of individuals
in the USA have completed advance directives. There are numerous factors leading to our
reluctance to strategy: lack of knowledge, insufficient urgency, anxiety about dying and death,
distrust of medical systems, ethnic incompatibility, psychological distress, and family dissension.
However, if we don't articulate our preferences associated with medical care and end-of-life care, we
relinquish control and commonly unduly weight relatives and buddies. A distressing scenario for all
concerned.
So, we must Plan for LIFE. The first step in the preparation procedure will be to "know thyself." Your
wishes for LIFE. Take some time . Consider the following questions in relationship to a healthcare
catastrophe or to advanced age:
For example:
-- Physically energetic
-- Mentally astute
-- Capable of conveying
What are your hopes? For example:
-- Stay at home
-- Be surrounded by friends as well as family

2. -- Keep a feeling of control
-- Be treated with respect and dignity
-- Experience good-handled symptoms and pain
For example:
-- Loss of control
-- Loss of relationships
-- Loss of dignity
-- Reduction of significance and function
-- Monetary ruin
-- Being a burden
The second part of the planning process is critically important--discussing your Strategy for LIFE
with family and friends. I can not stress this enough! Family and friends should listen to your LIFE
wishes. Getting THE dialog with loved ones affords the possibility answer questions, to articulate
your tastes, and discuss concerns. Additionally, your openness to "go there" may support others to
follow in your footsteps. A great thing indeed! Ask us about some of the fantastic on-line resources
to aid in kick starting THE dialog.
Eventually, document your Strategy for LIFE. Advance directives contain a number of legal forms
including: living will, CPR directive, Medical Durable Power of Attorney, MOST, POLST, 5 Wishes,
etc. It's important to ascertain the lawfully recognized and required documentation as mandated.
Seek legal counsel if desired.
If you're still averse to "go there," let me say yet another thing. Advance directives WILL NOT BE all
about YOU! Investing consideration plus time to produce a Plan for LIFE results in among the best
gifts you could offer your family and friends. A well-conceived Strategy for LIFE advise and will
direct people who care for you personally at the conclusion of the road --mitigating a number of the
unavoidable uncertainty and angst. For me, that's motivation enough to Plan for LIFE! I expect you
are motivated by it as well.
In case you have concerns or specific questions associated with your caregiving experience, I would
love to hear from you. Until another posting, I wish you and yours innumerable approvals.
Preferred Care