The interactive WORKBOOK leads you though the process of appointing the best person to be your health care proxy. It also contains four end-of-life scenarios to help you and your proxy talk about the kinds of decisions you would want made.
The companion VIDEO provides support for such conversations by showing how one patient and proxy use these scenarios to prepare each other for decision making.
To order the Workbook at Amazon.com:
CLICK HERE
To Order the Workbook and/or Video, please write or call:
Fidelity, Wisdom and Love
PO Box 437
Kensington, CT 06037-0437
Phone: (860) 828-2976
Why it is so important to have a healthcare proxy
Many people find it difficult to talk about the kind of care they want at the end of life. But there may come a time when you are too sick to make your own decisions. Unless your family and friends understand your wishes for care ahead of time, they will not know what choices to make on your behalf. And without completing an advance directive, that is, filling out a healthcare proxy form or a living will, they may not have the legal power to make decisions about refusal and withdrawal of certain treatments, or be able to advocate effectively for management of pain and other symptoms.
A healthcare proxy is someone you legally appoint to make decisions for you if you cannot make them for yourself. In some states, a healthcare proxy may be known as a healthcare agent or a durable power of attorney for healthcare.
Unlike a living will, which is a written document in which you state your wishes for-or-against life-prolonging treatment, your healthcare proxy is able to talk with those involved in your medical care and use his or her judgment to match your preferences for care with your actual medical circumstances. In other words, your designated and well-prepared proxy has a special authority, the ability to be responsive to specific events and the personal knowledge to represent your wishes and advocate for you effectively.
