Thursday, March 24, 2016

Wow!  this has been pretty busy so far this year!  I have been helping out Compassion and Choices to do some talks about the importance of a specific Living Will WITH a choice of a good Surrogate who can speak for you if you are unable to.  I gave a presentation at the Herald Tribune in Sarasota FL a couple weeks ago.  For my talk I emphasized this and explained that after one becomes incapacitated, it is too late.  I also told the group that lying in an ICU bed is NOT desirable.  Do you know why?

First,  the longer you are in the hospital, especially the ICU, the bigger chance you will develop an infection.  Maybe someone does not wash their hands.  Maybe you are just so sick you cannot fight off the bugs brought to your bedside.  Second, we now know that even after the short time of 48 hours, people are likely to develop Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS).  What is PICS?  It is where you get out of the hospital, and now have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...yes!  Just like our Servicemen and women get!  And also, you are likely to develop Alzheimers-like symptoms where you are unable to remember and think clearly.  Many people who have been seriously ill in the ICU never go back to work because of these things.  Third:  Do you have any idea what kind of costs you will be racking up lying in that bed?  Just consider:  an ICU bed (just the bed, no meds, no treatments, X-rays or ANYTHING else!!!) costs about $7000.00 per day.  Multiply by a week or 2!  Yes, you might be lucky to have insurance that covers 80% of those costs, but YOU will need to cover the rest.  How many people have $50,000. or more of disposable income to pay the remainder?  Not many.

So, advice, needless to say is to talk with your family.  Think about: What is valuable to me?  Would I be happy to never golf again? What about never playing bridge?  What about never being able to hold my grandkids?  What about never eating normally again?  These are your values.  You should think about theses things so YOU can make your own choices and consider your values.  Today is a good day to start!

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