Planning Ahead:
A Gift to Yourself and Your Family by Darcia L. Simpson, M.Div, CT, Ph.D.
I am writing to raise awareness about Advance Directives (ADs). These are legal documents that ensure your personal health care wishes, values and preferences are carried out if you can no longer speak for yourself. In Ohio, ADs include a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney, which names a trusted person you choose to be your voice if you become incapacitated, and a Living Will, which communicates your end-of-life health care and treatment choices. I get it. No one wants to talk about the moment when they can’t talk. Admittedly, it takes courage to plan for the end of life when we still have a whole lot of living to do. It takes even more courage to talk about it when it is quickly approaching for us or someone we love. However, I can share first-hand why there is great value in having conversations and completing ADs while loved ones are still relatively healthy. On April 14, 2020, my mother suddenly became weak, confused and unable to make decisions for herself. COVID-19 had disrupted our household for the third time. The decision I had to make was clear and unquestioned. Yes, I was stressed, but not as stressed as I would have been if I had no clue as to what my mother’s wishes were. WINTER/SPRING 2022 | 9
