Comments on Chief Family Officer: Writing an End-of-Life Letter

Thanks for participating in this week's Carnival o...

2008-05-17T20:54:55.561-07:00

Thanks for participating in this week's Carnival of Family Life by contributing this post! The Carnival is at ice cream is not for breakfast this week and will be live on Monday, May 19, 2008, so drop by and check out some of the other excellent articles included in this edition!

This is an excellent article. And if your readers want to know the severe consequences of not planning in advance, they can read about the case I litigated all the way to the California Supreme Court on the question of whether a brain-damaged man should live or die: Robert's Legacy.

Thanks for tackling a tough issue.

2008-05-17T04:22:13.280-07:00

Thanks for tackling a tough issue.

@Father Sez & Elizabeth - You have both made me re...

2008-05-16T20:43:38.797-07:00

@Father Sez & Elizabeth - You have both made me realize that I have been thinking of this letter from my own perspective, i.e., about writing my own letter. But what I really ought to be doing is making sure our parents have these letters of instruction, so that we will know what they want should the day ever come.

This is a great idea! My MIL passed away 3 years a...

2008-05-16T18:48:08.031-07:00

This is a great idea! My MIL passed away 3 years ago. While in the hospital for a colon issue, she contracted a MERSA Staph Infection. She was in ICU for 5 mos. up and down, intebated, and we could not talk to her to find out how to proceed. She was single and her parents were still living. Her 3 children and her parents had to decide what to do and it caused family division (which I know she would have loathed). She suffered until the end as did the family. She never got to sign the Living Will papers at the hospital because they had to suddenly induce a coma to intebate her because of breathing issues. We wished we had her feelings in writing to help us make decisions.

Wow! I have not thought about this at all. Reading...

2008-05-16T07:42:18.170-07:00

Wow! I have not thought about this at all. Reading your post has made me wonder.

The husband of a distant relative of mine has been bedridden for many years. I have wondered about how painful and traumatic this must be all.