A living will?

Had my pre-op tests Monday. I felt all was answered and was reassured not gonna need to stock up on blood before surgery (don't really like that idea, blood giving and all). Tests all went very well, good blood pressure, EKG, etc.

What really made me nervous was the question of "Do you have a living will? Well if not we could always draw one up for you here." I have 5 girls, a possible divorce after the holidays (waiting on if he cares for me during/or after surgery since he keeps so far away from me now!!) and what if???
Why do they ask that? What would happen if I didn't do one? My mom & dad was always the first choice in my book to raise the girls in case.....but my mom left my dad this past August. I really can't deal with worrying if I had to decide would raise my kids!!!

Another stressful decision now!!

The hospital where I had my hyst requires a designation of who is empowered to make decisions about your care should you become unable to do so, before elective surgery can take place. They handed me a blank booklet to read and fill out; or, I could supply them with a copy of whatever I had in place already.

They were not interested in who would raise my children, or what would become of my personal property... the issue was solely, who could make decisions for me if I couldn't. They also wanted to know in advance if a patient wanted to request a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order. Perhaps this is what your hospital was after as well?
s,
-Linda

hey there,

i used to work in a hospital in the admitting office. a living will is not like that it is something that you sign to say that if should something happen to you would like to be on life support to keep u alive. that is just normal procedure for any type of surgery. it is nothing to worry about. <oops! please keep support on the boards > i hope i helped you out a little.

vanessa

Big hugs to you Bunny Nose...isn't that just like life? The punches keep on rolling.
About that living will thingy, the others are right. It's just a doc that the hospital urges you to have in place just in case, so they know who you designate to make decisions about your treatment if you are out of it. If your hubby is MIA, maybe a relative can make that important decision if it ever comes to that.

Surgery (or anything Doctor) for that matter is scary, but angels always are near in many forms and when you are scared you will have someone there to help you through anything too hard for you to handle. I don't count myself as super religious but I'm spiritual in the extreme.

My best wishes and prayers go to you and yours and I know everything will be alright. Much love

It really is a pain to have to think about so much important stuff when you are faced with surgery.

You are probably more likely to be hit by a bus than to have a problem in the operating room. For me, Sept. 11 put everything in perspective. That was when I got all my documents lined up.

Everyone should have in place the following...

1. Power of Attorney for HealthCare - gives 1 or more people the authority to make medical decisions for you should you be incapacitated.

2. Living Will, also called an advance directive, tells physicians and caretakers to what extent you wish to have medical intervention should you be in a health situation which is terminal. (intervention such as tube feeding, ventilation etc. ) Some Living wills I've seen have the power of atorney for health care matters included in the Living Will.

3. General Durable Power of Attorney - A document giving someone else permission to handle all your affairs should you be unable. Someone could pay your bills from your check book and keep things going until you would be able to take over again. (They could also clean you out or sell your house and run so caution is advised)

4. A will - this is the document where you are advising how your assets are to be divided, who is to settle your affairs and if there are dependent children who you would like to act as their guardian. Without a will, the laws of the state or country in which you live will decide these things for you.

The above documents give people incredible power, so choose carefully when designating people to act on your behalf.


Bunny nose - you will recover just fine from your surgery. I really hope you husband will be supportive and that you have a happy holiday - free from whatever is causing you to have the surgery in the first place.

Hi ladies,

Whether your hospital offers one or requires one, if you'd like to have a power of attorney done for your health care, make sure you leave yourself time before surgery to get it taken care of. Here in Michigan the form just has to be witnessed and signed by both the patient and their advocate(s) and three witnesses. In some other states it is considered a legal document that must be notarized.

You can find several sites online that offer forms for each state, but a lot of hospitals also provide them. I picked mine up during "pre-registration" which in my hospital is billing and insurance, then took it with me on surgery day.

Good luck to you all.