The recent case of Terri Schiavo should be a lesson to all that everyone needs to have a written health care proxy and living will. If Terri Schiavo had made her wishes known in writing it is unlikely that we would have heard about her tragic situation.

A living will is a document that states what type of care you would wish to have or not have in the event you become incompetent or unconscious due to illness or an accident. The living will can be tailored to meet your own wishes. You can specify what type of treatments you would want or not want. You can change your living will at anytime. If you don’t have a living will you may find yourself connected to life support when you wouldn’t have wanted such a thing. Likewise, you can even find yourself disconnected from life support when that would not have been what you wanted.

A health care proxy states the name of the person that you wish to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make your own decisions. Without a health care proxy, if you become unconscious or incompetent, no one would have the authority to receive information about your medical condition or speak to your doctors. Likewise, no one would have the authority to give instructions to your doctors. Health care proxies can be terminated or changed at any time.

Since you never know when you need a health care proxy and living will it is best to have them prepared now. I urge all to act and not to put it off to another day. If you put it off you risk finding yourself in the same tragic situation that Terri Schiavo found herself in.