National Healthcare Decisions Day
Everyone knows what April 15th brings, but do you know what April 16th brings? It’s National Healthcare Decision Day (NHDD) ! What the heck is that, you say? Glad you asked. It is a day that can affect how you live at the end of your life.
NHDD is a day to encourage people to consider their own thoughts and wishes about how they want to live before they die. This includes what matters to you at the end of your life, how you want to be, or don’t want to be treated medically in certain situations, how you express this to your loved ones and your doctors, and what documents you need to make sure the choices you make are fulfilled by those caring for you.
Nobody claims this is easy, but it is without a doubt important. There are also plenty of free resources available to help you with thinking of the things that are important to you and how you can communicate your wishes to those who will be involved in your care.
This is one of the bests gifts you can ever give to those you love; the gift of them knowing about your healthcare wishes.
We are encouraging everyone to participate in NHDD this year. Even sharing social media posts to create awareness is effective and can make a difference. Everyone can help!
See our stories below about why we want people to have the conversation. Do you have a story to share? We’d like to hear it. Join us for more discussion on our “Conversation Ready Facebook Group”.
Our Stories
Regrets
I’m encouraging people to share their wishes about how they want to live before they die because I didn’t have that conversation with my Mother. My Mom and I talked about everything else, though. We talked about her cancer treatments. We talked about her funeral service. We talked about her casket. We had many opportunities to talk but “it never felt like the right time”’. We never talked about “what mattered” to her at the end. My brothers and I had to make many difficult and agonizing decisions in the last nine months of her life. After years of “did we do the right thing” second guessing, I finally feel that we did. I figured out that as long as my brothers, myself, my husband and my kids were able to see and visit with her, that WAS enough and WE were what mattered to her. I don’t want others to experience such guilty feelings after the death of a loved one. Let’s all talk and share our wishes for how we want to live before we die. It’s a gift to your loved ones. //Laurie M.
Siblings
During our mother’s prolonged hospitalization before her death, my brothers and I had the opportunity to talk a lot about various end of life scenarios. Ultimately, 2 of us were and still are on the exact same page as to what we would prefer for our own situation while the other one had and still has completely opposing thoughts. Because one brother was so different in thought, I actually revisited his wishes a few years ago and discovered that he still feels the same way. I think it’s interesting that 3 siblings who endured the same experiences would have such different feelings and wishes. This shows that everyone needs to have this conversation and share their wishes and thoughts. We cannot assume what someone else is thinking. //Laurie M.
Great Grandparents
These are my great grandparents, and having the talk early with them – gave the entire family a peace of mind and when it was their time – we were well prepared to be able to morn properly – not panic trying to figure everything out. //Sarah C.
