Do you need a living will

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

A screaming ambulance slides into the hospital's emergency entrance and racing attendants unload a badly injured accident victim. Rapidly providing the needed identification and background information to the intake nurse, they reveal that the elderly victim has no living will. The broken body on the stretcher moans and gasps for air, clearly in need of life support if she is to survive. Unable to make the decision herself, no family member has been legally indicated as the person to make medical decisions for her in situations like this. The woman may will in moments without life support; she may even die with it. But without an authoritative signature the doctor is reluctant to make a life-and-death decision.

Could this dying victim be you or a loved one in the future?

Without a living will, no one has the right to make medical decisions that impact your life or determine whether you will live or die. Yet, if a panicky family member makes the wrong decision, there's nothing you can do about it when you are lying unconscious at death's door. Sometimes a family member will do things differently than we would like, or may even directly contradict previously-discussed directives. But without a designee to administer it, you cannot have a living will. Which is the better option?

No one can say for sure whether another person should have a living will. It's hard to answer that question for ourselves, even. Before making up your mind, here are some things to consider:

1. A living will provides guidelines and decisions in case you become incapable of making them for yourself. This condition may result from a mental lapse, a coma, or any situation that places out beyond the boundaries of legal consent. At that point the medical personnel turn to your close friend or family member. Yet no one can legally make a medical decision on your behalf without a living will. The document can be prepared with the help of an attorney. Copies will reside with the person and the designee, along with the attorney and perhaps the family doctor.

2. A living will cannot cover all contingencies. For example, the code "DNR" means "Do Not Resuscitate" (or try to keep alive) when the body begins to fail. But a temporary condition that is treatable, like pneumonia, for example, may be a good reason to place someone on a life support system like a ventilator when there is good cause to believe the person may recover, and that the technology does not prolong the inevitable.

3. A living will should be discussed comprehensively with your intended designee. He or she should agree to serve as your representative before drawing up the legal forms. Explain the role you want this person to play along with any caveats that he or she should be aware of. Put your instructions in writing, with a copy for the attorney and possibly your doctor.

4. Your living will should be kept up to date. For example, you may arrange one while in a certain state of health, but experience a health change a few years later. When changing your living will, be sure to keep your designee informed about any decision-making alterations.

5. Your living will may be effective only in the state where you reside. Check to see whether it can be honored elsewhere. If not, you may want to draw up another document on occasions when you travel extensively outside your state or move to another region. If that should happen, you probably should designate another person as your representative.

A living will may not be suited to everyone. Discuss the pros and cons carefully with your family and an attorney before making a decision and naming a representative. Most doctors and medical personnel will be happy to explain this concept in detail to help you come to a comfortable decision.