Letter To The Editor
Monday, April 12, 2010 2:20 pm
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I’m writing to share with you something very important and something very special we each can do for our families and ourselves.
We’re all familiar with April 15 and why it’s significant: It’s tax day. Not as many may know why April 16 is so significant, but we hope that will change in time. It’s National Healthcare Decisions Day, a time for American adults to consider what they would want in the event of an illness that would leave them unable to make medical decisions.
Would your family and doctors know what you’d want if you were unable to speak for yourself? There are many treatment options. Some you might want, some you might not. It’s important to write those preferences down, whatever they are. It’s hard to think about a debilitating illness, but for me, what’s even harder to think about is family members left not knowing what to do and trying to do what they believe best. Writing down what you’d want is a gift to them.
This isn’t a day of doom and gloom. Rather, it’s about the peace of mind you can have knowing that your loved ones won’t face the same kind of situation Terri Schiavo’s family went through.
The tools you can use for advance care planning are free. You can access them by visiting www.alivehospice.org (click on the Advance Directives link at the top of the page) or by calling 615-327-1085.
I’ve written my wishes down. Will you?
Janet L. Jones
President and CEO,
Alive Hospice