We’re Not Too Young

As newly weds it was important to have a discussion about what matters most at the end of life so we can make the right decisions for each other when the time comes

I hope that someday everyone fills out a health directive when they become an adult at 18. Our parents are legally responsible for us in the United States until then. At 18 ideally everyone should fill out a health directive. If you don’t do this and you are in an accident or get a terminal disease doctors and hospitals have a the legal right to make all decisions for you. Your health directive ensures that your loved ones will be able to represent you and your wishes. I filled out my first health directive when I was 40. I still didn’t believe I was going to die someday. I know It is challenging to think about a health directive when you think you are immortal. They vary from state to state, but what is important is what you write. Nevertheless, we are all going to die and we all want to have a good death. We are all familiar with death and through figuring out what what state we want to live into is something only you can decide. That is why preparing is important even when we are young and do not think about death.

A touching story of two Newlyweds 

How to Talk about End-of-Life Care When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s Disease

When my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, instead of living into the late stages, he chose to vsed. I was his advocate. We discussed everything. He had excellent support. In order for my husband to have a good quality of death there was a lot to talk about. Being able to comfortably talk about end of life is essential in order to prepare for a good quality of death.. Informing ourselves and others without judgment is key to living a good life and having a good death. Cultivating support systems will help yourself and others.

This article reiterates the difficulty of discussing end of life with someone in every stage of Alzheimer’s disease and how you can try to communicate how they want to leave their body

The Conversation Project is a great resource for end of life preparation and support.

How to Talk about End-of-Life Care When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s Disease

Why Aren’t We Talking About It?

I wrote my first Health Directive when I was forty years old. It felt uncomfortable. Now it feels so routine when I update my Health Directive because I’ve exercised the muscle of learning about end of life choices. I acknowledge that death is a certainty and an extension of life.

Maybe someday everyone will fill out a basic Health Directive when they get their driver’s license. Once we turn eighteen years old, if we don’t have a Health Directive, we turn our power over to the medical profession to make decisions for us. By talking about our values and wants with loved ones we can pave the path to a more conscious way of dying. 

The conversation project is also a great resource for discussing end of life choices.

http://theconversationproject.org/