Top 50 Nursing Assistant Blogs

Much thanks to NurseAssistant.org for including The Good Death in its listing of the Top 50 Nursing Assistant Blogs.

I am happy to be in such great company. If you scroll down the list to Hospice Care Blogs, you will see us listed amongst some of the best palliative-care focused blogs out there.

Thanks for the shout out!

Filling out my Living Will

Which lines would you initial?

"If in the judgement of my physician, I am suffering with a terminal condition from which I am expected to die within six months, even with available life-sustaining treatment provided in accordance with prevailing standards of medical care:

__I request that all treatments other than those needed to keep me comfortable be discontinued or withheld and my physician allow me to die as gently as possible;

OR

__I request that I be kept alive in this terminal condition using available life-sustaining treatment (THIS SELECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO HOSPICE CARE.)"

For me, it's pretty easy here. I initialed the first option. If I knew I was terminal, I would only want comfort care. The next question gets into more gray areas for me though.

"If, in the judgment of my physician, I am suffering with an irreversible condition so that I cannot care for myself or make decisions for myself and am expected to die without life-sustaining treatment provided in accordance with prevailing standards of care:

__I request that all treatments other than those needed to keep me comfortable be discontinued or withheld and my physician allow me to die as gently as possible;

OR

__I request that I be kept alive in this irreversible condition using available life-sustaining treatment. (THIS SELECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO HOSPICE CARE.)"

I want to initial the first line, but I also really want to know what the condition would be. Doesn't everyone? I'm lucky; I have a great medical advocate as my medical power of attorney. I'm wondering how other people have worked through these topics though.