Don’t Do This To Your Family

29 Oct 2022 · 1 min

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In this YouTube video, Jerry Taylor recounts a harrowing personal experience when his 80‑year‑old mother suffered a heart attack that left her unconscious and in need of lifelong dialysis. Faced with a deadline to decide whether to initiate dialysis for a diabetic, dementia‑stricken, bed‑bound patient, Taylor learned that his mother had already refused treatment. He uses this story to illustrate the emotional toll of making end‑of‑life decisions for loved ones and urges viewers to prepare a living will in advance. He explains that a living will documents an individual’s wishes for end‑of‑life care, and advises viewers to search online for their state’s specific form to ensure their preferences are respected.

Chapters

On the list of things that you would never want to do to your family, having to make the decision about whether you live or die is right at the top. Several years ago, I was out of the country and I got a call that my mom had gone into the hospital with heart problems. By the time I got back in the country and I was able to reach her bedside, she was unconscious. Doctor wanted to see me, and when I met with him, he told me that she had had a heart attack, which had caused a great deal of damage to her kidneys, and if she came to, she was going to need dialysis for the rest of her life. At that time, she was 80 years old, she was diabetic, dementia, and she was bedbound. Doctor told me he needed to know by the next day. That was probably the longest night of my life. The next day I came to the hospital and the doctor told me that she had come to briefly. He had spoken to her and she had made the decision on her own to not have dialysis. The way to avoid it is to make out a living will. Living will, you state your wishes about how you want to be cared for at the end of your life. Google your state and living will. You'll most likely find the form that your state uses.