|
Living
Wills – Why Equestrians Should Consider Them
Editor’s
note: This week’s column differs from our usual
question-and-answer format
because we received multiple
requests to address this timely topic.
The
recent news coverage of Terri Schiavo, a 39-year-old
Florida woman who suffered brain damage in 1990 from a
heart attack, has renewed public interest in living
wills. Terri’s parents and brother contend that she
communicates with them and that through rehabilitative
therapy, she can learn to receive nutrition without the
feeding tube that now keeps her alive. Terri’s husband
contends that she is in a persistent vegetative state
from which she will never recover. He wants to have his
wife’s feeding tube removed, asserting that he is
merely carrying out her wishes not to be kept alive
under such circumstances. Terri’s parents petitioned
the Florida courts to prevent the removal of the feeding
tube, and the case received international media
attention when the courts rejected the parents’
petition and permitted removal of the feeding tube. The
case took a dramatic turn several days later when
Florida state legislators passed a bill permitting
Florida Governor Jeb Bush to order that the feeding tube
be reinstated. Governor Bush promptly signed the bill
into law and ordered the reinstatement of the feeding
tube.
If Terri
had created a living will prior to her heart attack, her
family would not be struggling with the decision to end
her life. Living wills, also called advance directives,
are written records created to document what life saving
measures you would like taken (or not taken) in the
event that you suffer from a serious health condition
and can’t communicate. With a living will, Terri’s
family would be certain of what Terri would have wanted,
however difficult it might be for them to reconcile her
wishes with their own beliefs. If her living will
specified that she would not wish to be kept alive by a
feeding tube, her husband, who has the power to make
health care decisions on her behalf, could order the
removal of her feeding tube. Because Terri did not
create a living will, her family is left to speculate
about what she would want, which is clearly
excruciatingly painful for them.
Most of
us don’t plan for traumatic health events – it’s
just easier not to think about it. We are healthy and
active, not yet forced to consider our own mortality.
However, in pursuing our passion for horses, we place
our lives and well being in jeopardy every day. Today
our horse could spook at a shadow, step in a ground
squirrel hole or kick the daylights out of us when we
body clip his stomach. Tomorrow we could have a car
accident on the way to the barn. If our family arrived
at the hospital to find us brain dead, alive only with
the help of machines, would they know what to do?
To help
your family with difficult health care decisions, you
can create a living will. The American Bar Association’s
Commission on Law and Aging publishes a free online tool
kit designed to help you consider what you want and
discuss it with your family and health care providers.
Once you decide what your wishes are, you can use free
forms available at the U.S. Living Will Registry to
create your own living will. Be sure to follow your
state’s guidelines for enforceability. For example,
many states require that living wills be witnessed and
notarized. You can usually find a notary at your local
bank, and many copy-service and mail-service businesses,
such as Kinko’s and Mailboxes, Etc. also offer notary
services.
Once you
have created your living will, keep one copy in an
easily accessible place at home and the original in your
safety deposit box. Give a copy to each of your health
care providers and family members and talk it over with
them to make sure they understand it. Attach a note to
the back of your driver’s license stating that you
have a living will and where a copy can be found. It
just might be the most important document you’ll ever
need. |
