Organized Medicine Wants to Control Your Death. Acquiesce – or Exercise Your Autonomy.
Managing dying and death is difficult enough. But if you do nothing, you’ll be a pawn in a profit-driven medical system.
Getting Comfortable with the ‘D’ Word
Talking about death doesn’t make it happen sooner.
My Brother’s Keeper – Part Two
Suffering after death — the family’s burden.
My Brother’s Keeper – the Beginning of the End
Do you know what can go wrong without advance directives and an end-of-life plan? You have NO IDEA.
Two Heads Are Not Always Better Than One
When it comes to your healthcare surrogate, do NOT name co-advocates!
WHAT “DO EVERYTHING” REALLY MEANS
ZDoggMD (Zubin Damania, MD) explains in his engrossing style what it really means to decide that you want to be kept alive by doing everything possible. It may be time to remodel those advance directives.
Finding and being a good (or great) health care advocate
One problem with advance directives is that often they are not honored. It is critical that you have a good advocate who demands that you get only the care you want and do not get what is not wanted, not only at end of life but at any time you encounter a medical institution. You will need to choose someone who meets the legal requirements to act as a health care or medical agent, which some states call a proxy, surrogate, or representative. I call this person your "advocate." State requirements differ greatly, so be sure to use your state's forms for naming a health care or medical agent, not generic documents like the "5 wishes."