SEASONAL ALLERGIES AND END-OF-LIFE

I live in the middle of a very weedy hayfield, and the ragweed is blooming.

The ragweed is tearing
me up right now.

This means that even though I'm on two different medications for allergies, I still cannot breathe very well, my brain feels like day-old oatmeal, drainage leaks continually from my nose, and I sneeze often.

Not a pretty situation for someone working in healthcare, especially with a new strain of Covid going around. Who wants a nurse who looks like a walking contagion?

Speaking of the job...

When I have a few spare minutes, or when I reach the end of my work day and I'm not so completely exhausted that I can think of nothing more than dinner and early bedtime, I like to look up videos, lectures, podcasts, etc., about various diagnoses. What kind of symptoms are associated with a particular diagnosis? How does this disease progress? What does end-of-life look like for a person dealing with ---?

Anywho, one evening I was watching a lecture about Parkinson's Disease. The presenter talked specifics about PD progression and symptom management, but he also made this statement: "I tell my PD patients the same thing I tell everyone who is 18 years old or older: You need to have a will. You need a Power of Attorney. Do you have an Advanced Directive?"

If you are 18 years or older, you need the following:

Durable Power of Attorney: This allows you to designate someone to make legal decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapable of doing so yourself.

Power of Attorney for Healthcare: This allows you to designate someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf in the event that you become incapable of doing so yourself. NOTE: A Power of Attorney and a Power of Attorney for Healthcare are NOT the same thing.

Living Will: This is a document in which you write out what you want to be done regarding healthcare decisions, should you become unable to speak for yourself.

You also need a Last Will and Testament, which states what is to be done with your personal possessions if you die.

It would also be helpful if you write down your wishes for what happens to your body if you die, and any preferences regarding funeral services, etc.

After taking care of all these, TALK to someone - your spouse, your kids, your roommate, etc. - and tell them what you want and where these documents are located.

I lost several members of my immediate family last year. Some planned and prepared for the inevitability of death. Others did not. Those who did plan ahead gave their survivors a tremendous gift: there was no confusion about "What did ---- want?" and no cause for disagreement or tension between surviving family members regarding medical decisions or disposition of property.

[I am not kidding, folks - I got called to do a death visit in the middle of writing this post. Friends, NONE of us knows the day or the hour we will die. Even if you are perfectly healthy and have no medical issues, GET THIS STUFF DONE.]