Let Your Wishes Be Known

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Right now it seems everyone is talking about Martin Pistorius, a man who came down with a rare reaction to a viral infection when he was a boy that left him paralyzed and in a "vegetative state." As it turns out, he regained cognition before his muscle strength improved and thus he was locked in his own body for years. As you can see above, there's a happy ending after several therapists work with him to make progress and he finds true love and community re-integration. I'm happy for him. It's a great rehabilitation story.

Today in response to Mr. Pistorius' experience I saw a post where someone said something to the effect of, "Let it be known, if I end up like a vegetable, let me go!" The ensuing commentary discusses what a nightmare it would be if one couldn't speak for herself, couldn't communicate her needs. These people were thankful such a thing is "rare."

Problem is, it's not rare. 

Sure, spontaneous paralysis from a sore throat is not common. But each day people flood our emergency rooms without having made their advanced directives known (and no, Facebook statuses don't hold up). They are intubated and sedated. Others make decisions for them. You might think this only affects the elderly, but envision the young healthy woman who had a biking accident, her life hangs in the balance of what her estranged husband figures he'll do that day.

Who do you want to make medical decisions for you if you can't speak for yourself?

If there's no realistic chance of recovery, do you want tubes in your stomach, throat, rectum, and bladder for the rest of your life?

Do you have all your wishes written out already? Good. Are they in a place your friends and family members can readily find them?

No one likes to talk about these things, but they're important (trust me). Very few people in the ICU thought they'd be there, but so they are.

At the risk of sounding apostolic, now is truly the time to prepare. 5 Wishes is a great resource to get your preferences in writing and affect how your care is managed should, heaven forbid, you find yourself in a situation that parallels what Mr. Pistorius went through.