Although it may seem to be a dreary topic to consider when you are in perfectly good health, your wishes for end-of-life care are very important. In fact, it is vitally important to make your end-of-life wishes known while you are in good health so that when you are faced with an emergency, your loved ones know what level of health care you would like. First, you will need to consider what you want done in case of certain emergencies. Second, you will need to make your wishes known through a legally binding document so that your loved ones will be very clear about your desires.
Planning for Important Decisions
You will want to begin by looking at documents for a living will. These documents will give you plenty of information about the type of care that you could receive at the end of your life. Plan to take a bit of time to consider your options before making your ultimate wishes known. Some of these decisions certainly are difficult, but by sleeping on them for a few days, you may be able to make a better decision based on what is truly important to you. An important consideration to make is what you consider to be a good quality of life. For example, some people simply want to be kept alive at all costs while others wish to be made comfortable so that they can enjoy their final days at home.
Once you have made these important decisions, you will want to write them down in a legally binding document. A living will covers life-saving medical treatments that you do or do not want done if you appear to be at the end of your life. A healthcare power of attorney puts someone else in charge of decision-making for you if you are no longer able to do this. An advanced directive tells medical personnel that you do not want life-saving measures in emergencies.
