Many people, especially those who are healthy, do not think of what would happen if they should suddenly fall ill or become injured in a serious accident. But this topic is far more important than most people in my age group think.
We recently had an experience in the hospital where a 25 year old man went down at home, he was revived by paramedics, and brought to the hospital. After a few days on life support, he was declared brain dead. His fiancee, whom he had been with for several years, wanted to withdraw care and let him go, as she knew that this was the decision he would have wanted to make. However, he did not have an advanced directive to appoint a power of attorney or living will, so the decision legally went to his mother whom he was not close with. His mother couldn’t bear the thought of her son passing away, so she refused to let the hospital withdraw the life support. He laid in the bed for several days before physicians stepped in and told her that it was not ethical to keep his body going with the ventilator and other supportive equipment.
We, as nurses, had several conversations with his fiancee and she confided with us her frustration. Her and her fiance had actually had the conversation about “being a vegetable” after seeing a story on the news. They both vowed that they never wanted to lay in a hospital bed in that exact condition. But, because they never filled out an advanced directive (and weren’t legally married), she had no say on this decision. With just a few signatures, this situation could have become slightly less stressful on the fiancee.
Below you will find links to the PDFs provided by the State of Arizona to easily fill out your living will and healthcare power of attorney forms (at absolutely no cost to you). The living will is a document that discusses only “deathbed” decisions, while the healthcare power of attorney appoints one person to make all medical decisions for you, limited by decisions you made in your living will.
So, take a few minutes to print out the attached forms, take some time talking with your loved ones, and fill out the forms. Each form requires a notary to verify the signature, and most banks offer a free notary service when you use their company for banking. Many libraries also offer notary service, so make a quick phone call to find out. After you have filled out your forms, you can choose to file them with the State of Arizona’s Advanced Directive Registry (the pdf with instructions is below). This registry keeps your forms online, easily assessable to anyone you choose to give your password to. You can also choose to give copies of your advanced directives to your loved ones in case your find yourself in an unthinkable situation.
Living Will Form
Healthcare Power of Attorney Form
AZ Advanced Directives Registry Instructions
