Using Advance Directives

By Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC

Our mother had advance directives, but no one in the hospital was paying attention to them. She was lying on a gurney waiting to go into the operating room to have her pacemaker battery replaced surgically when the attending nurse asked me if my mother had any allergies. Indeed she did. She was deathly allergic to penicillin and bee stings. But the fact that the nurse did not know about the allergies set off my alarm!

My mother’s health care instructions (known as advance directives or a living will) were quite clear: If she was considered terminally ill or irreversibly unconscious, she wished to be allowed to die and not be kept alive through life support systems. She did not want to be resuscitated. She did not want to be tube fed. However, she did want to be kept as comfortable and as free from pain as possible.

These instructions and Mother’s allergy record were contained in the envelope the nurse held in her hand. Clearly, if the nurse didn’t know about the allergies, she didn’t know about the directives either, and that was simply unacceptable!

I asked the nurse if she had read the advance directives. She replied rather huffily that she did not get involved in such matters.

Mother had appointed my brother and me to be her health care agents and given us power of attorney for all health care decisions. Even though changing a pacemaker battery was a relatively simple procedure, I could not ignore the fact that the medical team was completely disregarding her instructions.

Sensing trouble, I planted myself firmly in front of the gurney and held Mother’s hand so the nurse could not wheel her away from me. Although my heart was pounding, I calmly insisted the nurse find someone in authority that did get involved in these matters.

Soon, two doctors appeared. Without explaining who they were or why they were there, one got in my face ready to argue. The other, noting my distress, sent the first away and sat me down to sign some sort of form that would allow the surgery to proceed, taking into account Mother’s wishes.

The battery was changed without complications and, happily, we did not need to invoke the living will. But I was grateful to have the document at hand in case we had needed it.

PEARL OF WISDOM

Advance directives are important legal documents. Be sure to take them with you every time you go to the hospital!


Joan Blumenfeld, MS, LPC is a Geriatric Care Manager practicing in Fairfield County, Connecticut. For information visit www.joanblumenfled.com. © 2011 Joan Blumenfeld


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