By Brian Morris, MD

During my medical career, I have seen countless patients ignore important end-of-life questions. No one enjoys talking about death or how the end-of-life should be handled. However, there are few discussions that are more important. Everyone is mortal. Death is something that all of us will have to face. No one knows when their time will come, but when it does, it’s incredibly important that your wishes be respected. We spend so much effort striving to optimize health through nutrition, exercise, etc. but sometimes forget about how we want the end of our lives handled. It’s so important to the overall quality of life to be clear to yourself, your loved ones, and your health professionals exactly how you want your end-of-life handled from a medical standpoint.

That being said, talking about end-of-life wishes is not easy. There are many ways to have this discussion, but usually the best way is to have an honest, face-to-face discussion with your closest relatives and other loved ones. Follow this discussion by putting your wishes into a legal document with the assistance of a professional. Ideally, one relative or friend should be designated as the primary advocate or decision maker. This is important because when someone gets ill, divisions can occur in families, so it’s important to have a designated decision maker.

This designated person should be the one who knows your wishes and has the good judgment and discretion to handle difficult situations respecting your wishes. Ideally, this person should also be geographically located near you.

Once you’ve chosen your representative, it’s important to have some candid conversations. How do you feel about artificial resuscitation? How do you feel about being on life support? Under what circumstances do you want these measures undertaken? Sometimes it’s helpful to discuss some possible scenarios to determine what you would want done under each circumstance.

Have a clearly defined person identified as your power of attorney who will function as your representative if you are incapacitated. That person should have an understanding of your values and your wishes so that he or she can make the decisions in your best interests. It is ideal to meet with an attorney well-versed in these issues so that all of this can be properly laid out in a legal document. This helps to ensure your wishes are respected in the event that you are not able to be your own advocate.

Although it may be difficult, discuss your end-of-life wishes with those closest to you and put your wishes into a legal document. Also, designate who will be your decision maker should you be unable to make decisions for yourself.