There are many options and choices available, and as a gift to both our family and ourselves let’s make sure our paperwork is complete and in order.
What about forcing our family to navigate drawers or computer files of our finanicials such as recurring payments, important passwords, and even that side hussle of yours?
A doula can guide the process of collecting and documenting your Advanced Planning paperwork which frees the family to do what they need to do: spend meaningful time with their loved one.
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Adults plan for vacations, retirement, and even for dinner, but how many have set their needs and desires in place for their last act of living - their transition from this life? None of us gets out of this alive.
What may come as a surprise is the amount of control we each have over our end-of-life. It simply takes planning, organizing, and sharing what matters most. Whether we are 18 or 80, our loved ones need to know how to support us as we move through our transition.
What are our future medical intervention desires? Where are the documents to handle our auto-pays, important passwords, digital lives (including social media!)? Is there a meaningful legacy we want to leave our loved ones for the impact we made on their lives? Family is too often left frantically trying to navigate desk drawers or computer files to find documents all the while wondering if they are making decisions that align with their loved one’s desires, fueled by high levels of stress. Why leave your loved ones in that position? These plans are the biggest gift you can give yourself and your family.
When someone dies, there are more than fifty decisions and action steps that need to be handled by survivors. Immediately. Remove the guesswork by documenting these decisions in advance, so loved ones are free to take care of you and support one another’s grief.
The basic Advanced Care forms are a Power of Attorney and a Living Will, but these forms are only the beginning and don’t include your unique desires or what’s important to you.
Who or what supports you through difficult times?
What traditions are important to you? Do you want a window open as your end-of-life draws near?
When you become terminally ill, how much about your condition do you want to know? (only the basics? all the details? This includes knowing how quickly the disease is progressing.)
How much medical care would you want if you had Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia?
Where do you prefer to be toward the end of your life? (in a healthcare facility or in your home?)
If at home, who would you like at your bedside? Who do you not want there? Do you have a pet you want on the bed with you?
Do you want silence in the house or could others sit outside the room talking and laughing?
What about music?
As you see, there is a lot of control we each have so that our deaths reflect the way we lived. Having someone help you explore your options will ensure it remains a normal life process that focuses on fulfilling YOUR desires for quality of life emotionally, spiritually and practically.
