End of Life: Advance Directive

 

End of the Appalachian Mountains. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, Alabama. November 2020. Credit: Mzuriana.

I pondered about this post's category. Should I prefix it death or should I use end of life? 

Perhaps it should be: End of the Fourth Age. 

Or just The End. Or Almost the End. 

Wait. In keeping with this blog's subtitle, A Travel Journal From the Land of Age: 

• End of the Road
• Winding Down
• Going Home
• Travel's End
• Last Stop

Bringing mine up to date

I completed my first advance directive more than 15 years ago, when I was still married and a different state was my legal residence. My husband was my primary health care agent, and my adult daughter, Kit, the backup. 

Very recently, I drew up a new advance directive, which:

1. Declared my daughter as my primary health care agent; and
2. Used a template from the state of my current legal residence.  

My local library provides free notary services, and I availed myself of that useful benefit. 

Where is it? 

• I mailed my daughter a print copy of the new advance directive. 
• I uploaded a scanned copy onto a cloud account that I share with my daughter.
• The original is in a plastic sleeve on my refrigerator, along with the contact information for my daughter and my primary healthcare provider. 

Resource

CaringInfo.org shares good, basic information about advance directives in plain language:

1. What is an advance directive? 
2. Download and complete your state's advance directive template
3. Creating your advance directive
4. Storing and retrieving your advance directive
5. About digital and video advance directives
6. POLSTS (Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment)
7. Power of attorney
8. Choosing a healthcare agent

Rearview sunset on I-10 in Texas. September 2017. Credit: Mzuriana.