How to Plan, before Death,
for Medical Crisis

How to plan for death?  Really?  Everyone knows you should see an Estate Attorney and have a will ready...

BUT -- As I watched the news about Lamar Odam, NBA star, and his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian... I wonder if he ever signed Medical Durable Power of Attorney forms.

Yes, maybe a strange thing to consider when the man is facing death... so sad, he had it all and loses over drugs. What a wasted life!

But that's not what I'm writing about....

My Friend, Phyllis, recently died....

When my friend was hospitalized in Mid-May 2015, I asked her (several times) to sign a Medical Power of Attorney form. I didn't want to be named, just wanted her to complete the form, just in case. 

She had cancer for 13 years, now brain cancer... and if something suddenly happened where she was unable to make decisions, she needed someone she trusted to carry out whatever her wishes were.

I printed out the forms. I read the forms to her. I talked about the "what if"... but she just couldn't give up control. A month later, in rehab, she agreed and signed the form with her Cousin Bill.

She did not want to lose control -- over any part of her life. I totally understand that... but What If....  what if she were kept alive in a comatose condition (something she did not want)?  If she hadn't named anyone to make that decision, the courts cannot do a thing. Right?

We never needed to use it... my friend died, a long horrible death, but never needing someone to make medical decisions for her.  RIP Phyllis.. (I will write about this experience at some point, but it's still too fresh to deal with).

Here is the Power of Attorney for Health Care form... direct from the American Bar Association that attorneys belong to.

I pray it helps someone you know!

Young or old -- ill or not -- none of us ever know when a medical crisis might happen. If you, or your loved ones, don't want to be kept alive with medical machines, read up on this legal issue, just in case.

NOTE: An Advance Medical Directive is a legal document that allows you to choose who will make health care decisions for you if, for any reason, you cannot make these decisions for yourself. This document has different names in different states, such as a Medical Power of Attorney, Medical Directive, Health Care Power of Attorney,  Designation of Health Care Surrogate, or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.