How do you want to leave life?
Have you thought about it? Have you communicated your wishes to your family? It’s a tough question because the answer is not straight forward. The answer combines matters of faith and medicine. The proper way to communicate your end-of-life wishes to your family and healthcare providers is through a written advance directive commonly known as a living will.
Without a living will, family members and health care providers are left guessing about your wishes. Living wills can be lengthy documents containing confusing medical terms and endless “what if” scenarios. A poorly worded living will can create, rather than alleviate, confusion. We suggest your living will be simple. John’s brother Mark Wheeler, MD is an on-staff family practice physician at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Based upon his end-of-life experiences with families, he created a living will he calls, “Leaving Life God’s Way.” We are sharing a copy with you in the link below.
Download Leaving Life God’s Way
There is a popular adage often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Wise decisions are rarely made during times of crisis. Such decisions often lead to conflict and misunderstanding within families. Since none of us can avoid death and very few of us avoid medical hardship, we encourage you to “get a plan” as soon as possible. Your plan should include four documents: a will, living will, designate a healthcare surrogate and designate a power of attorney. Do this for your benefit and for the benefit of your family.
