This section of the workbook will help you think about what’s important to you – and what you’d want people to know if you couldn’t speak for yourself.
Life can take many twists and turns. Imagine:
- One day, without any warning, you find yourself in a hospital with a life-threatening illness. You are unable to speak for yourself? Does anyone know your health care wishes? Who will make decisions for you?
- Your mother has slipped into a coma – and you and your siblings need to make some decisions about her medical care. Which one of you will make those decisions? How do you know if they are the right choices for your mother?
- Your father is becoming frailer as he ages. His condition seems to change every day, and he’s been making regular trips to the hospital. What would happen if he couldn’t make decisions for himself during the next hospital visit? Would you be able to make them for him? Would you know what to say?
- You are at the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, and you know that at some point you will not be able to recognize people or make your own decisions. How will you make your wishes known? Who will make decisions for you?
Ask Yourself: What’s important to me?
The following questions can help you think about your values and beliefs, and what you would like others to know. You can answer as many of the questions as you like, and your answers will become part of your plan summary when you complete your Workbook.