Living Will

If you were not glued to your television back in 2005, when Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed, you should Google her and read the whole fascinating story.

Briefly: Terri Schiavo was 26 years old in 1990, when she had a heart attack at home and temporarily died. She was resuscitated, but had suffered oxygen deprivation to her brain for so long that, although her eyes were open, and she could slightly move her arms, her EEG recorded almost no brain activity.

For 15 years, she “lived” in what Florida called a “Persistent Vegetative State” (P.V.S.), with a feeding tube keeping her bodily functions going, and her parents visiting and caring for her, while her husband, Michael, fought in the courts to have her feeding tube removed. At the same time, Michael was increasing his bank account through courts awarding him caregiver money, etc. There was lots of activity by both the Right-to-Die and the Pro-Life movements, with lots of inflammatory language on both sides: “Brain-dead woman”, “Slow, agonizing death by dehydration and starvation”, etc.

When Terri Schiavo was first determined to be in P.V.S., the doctors asked Michael, “What would she want done?” Michael’s answer: “How the hell would I know? We never talked about that. We were only 26.”

Ten years later, Michael suddenly remembered several conversations in which his wife had said, “I wouldn’t want to live like that,” or “Let me go,” when discussing that kind of what-if situation. Michael’s brother and sister-in-law had a convenient burst of memory and also recalled such conversations with Terri.

Those are the basics. But again, I encourage you to read it for yourself.

If you have a heart attack, or a stroke, or an accident that leaves you in a P.V.S., with essentially no brain function, what would YOU want done? Your Advance Directive, sometimes called a “Living Will”, completed and signed, tells everyone EXACTLY what your wishes are. It can be changed anytime you wish. It does NOT require a lawyer.

A “Living Will” is valid ONLY while you are LIVING (hence the term LIVING WILL). It has nothing whatsoever to do with your Final Will and Testament. Your Final Will says what you want done with your property and money AFTER you’re gone. Your LIVING Will says what you want done with you while you’re still alive.

When I was a real nurse, working in the hospital, I was, too many times, witness to arguments among family members about what “mama would want”. It took about two of those arguments for me to realize that if I were lying in a hospital bed in P.V.S., that exact argument would erupt between my 2 sons. The issue would involve their opposite personalities. The gentle, compassionate son probably would want to maintain my body on life support for 50 years, and the other loving, yet pragmatic son, arguing for turning off the machines and filing for my life insurance.

My Advance Directive says “turn OFF the machine, but if I continue to breathe without it, give me plenty of drugs to keep me comfortable, ‘even if it shortens my life’”. (The wonderful thing is that you can choose to be maintained on life support indefinitely if that’s what you want.)

The second thing your Advance Directive does is to appoint a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. This person has ONLY ONE JOB, and that is to assure your Advance Directive is followed. (Of course, I named my pragmatic son to be my Durable PoA for Healthcare.)

Once your Advance Directive is done, make copies. Give your doctor a copy, give copies to your family, and keep one with your other important papers. Do NOT put the only copy in a safe deposit box where it isn’t readily available to all parties involved.

The free fill-in-the-blank forms, along with simple, yet comprehensive instructions, are available at the Alabama Hospital Association website http://www.alaha.org/hospital-topics/advance-directives/

Read Terri Schiavo’s story.  You will be motivated to print out those forms.