Live your best to life’s end.
There’s still lots of life to live–whatever health and medical decisions that may be ahead. For many, feeling ‘alive’ right to the end means feeling useful for as long as possible. For others, it’s peace of mind that brings a peaceful end. For most, it’s feeling wanted, valued, respected and listened-to that are all-important. The pleasures of everyday life can be just as meaningful: what makes you smile, what brings you happiness and joy and what gives you comfort.
It’s often that small stuff that can make a big difference: There are creative ways to accomplish what may seem out of reach – like the man on the rock who may not be able to be physically near an ocean, but may be able to turn to technology to inspire a solution. Paying attention to small pleasures shifts the focus from ‘what I don’t want at life’s end’ to ‘what will make a positive difference to me at life’s end.’ It’s an approach with its own reward: helping someone have the best end can help everyone involved.
Need Inspiration?
How would you fill in the blank? Check out whiteboards and 60-second BestEndings videos: instagram @MyBestEndings
Need Information?
It can be a long road to learning about and planning for the best end-of-life experience. There’s lots to consider and emotions to tackle. Pick your own starting points: personal or medical decisions or specific topics. You can come back for more and then document your end of life wishes
Caring for aging parents: Chronic illness
Heart and kidney failure, frailty, Alzheimer’s, Lung Disease, Diabetes
Palliative Comfort Care and Quality of Life
The Palliative and Hospice approach: comfort and quality of life is what it’s all about
Understanding Medical Terms and Jargon
Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation: CPR, Do Not Resuscitate: DNR, Allow Natural Death: A.N.D
Traditions, Culture and Being Remembered
Time honored customs can help at life’s end, ways to keep memories alive.
Modern Medicine can keep you alive
End of life: grief and bereavement
Knowing what End of Life looks like can ease the process; often grief starts long before the end.
Decision-Makers: Consent and Conflict
Surrogate, Substitute, Agent, Proxy: who will make sure your end of life wishes are followed.
Advance Directives, Living Will, End of Life Wishes
Create your own end of life, Advance Directives Living Will with an interactive form
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PEG or Percutaneous endoscopic gastric feeding tubes, long assumed to help bed-bound dementia patients stave off or overcome bed sores/pressure ulcers, may instead make the wounds more likely to develop or not improve, according to a study. "We see a substantial risk...
Substitute Decision-Makers Suffer Post-Traumatic-Stress
Surrogates suffer in their role as patients' decision-makers "A Systematic review: the effect on surrogates of making treatment decisions for others"– published in the Annals of Internal Medicine – was the topic of discussion on Pallimed: A Hospice & Palliative...
Pain as a Cause of Agitated Delirium
"Can't you do something about her pain?" An 85-year-old woman with multiple medical problems, including dementia, coronary artery disease, renal insufficiency, and peripheral vascular disease, was admitted to our hospital with urosepsis. Her hospital course was...
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