End of Life Discussion
My first true encounter with end of life was when my granddad passed away last February. In the last few months of his life he was experiencing progressive cognitive decline with dementia, multiple TIAs/strokes, physical decline such as being unable to care for himself, and frequent ER visits and hospitalizations. Eventually he could no longer be cared for in his home, so he moved into a board & care, and eventually he experienced another stroke and developed pneumonia. He had been in the hospital for a couple days for this admission and we knew it would not be long. On the morning he passed I was woken up by my mother stating that the nurse at the hospital had called saying his breathing had changed and that we should go over. I was unsure of whether or not I would be able to witness his passing but I went to the hospital with my parents, grandmother, and aunt regardless because I knew I would regret not going. And I was very glad that I went; although it was difficult being there in his passing helped to bring a sense of closure and we were able to be there together saying goodbye.
Luckily before this had happened my mother had initiated a discussion with my grandparents regarding their wishes regarding end of life. With the information out in the open we did not have to worry about making the difficult choices when my granddad became ill and were able to focus more on the time left together. This event also prompted my mom to open the discussion regarding her end of life wishes and to create an advanced directive. She has shared her wishes with me and she has made me her secondary healthcare proxy after my dad due to my healthcare knowledge. My dad has not outright talked about this end of life wishes with me, but through talking with my mom she has shared that his views are similar. Neither of them want to prolong their life to the point living chronically with a breathing tube, feeding tube, etc. I feel the same way, and I suspect that the majority of us would agree after our experiences. I would 100% trust my parents, especially my mom due to her nursing experience, to make the right decisions for me if it were to come to it. However I have not had this discussion yet with my sisters, which would be a good idea to have next time we are all together.
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