How can we ensure that we'll die peacefully in a serene setting instead of stuck in a hospital with a pull-the-plug decision that we had intended to avoid? It's easy to make mistakes—despite our desires or advance directives—due to chance, error, shifting events, and even systemic defaults. Here you will find practical guidance to avoid obstacles and overcome impediments.
Hospitals advise us to bring someone to advocate on our behalf and accompany a loved one to advocate on theirs. Effectiveness goes way beyond serving as an extra pair of ears or signing off on a treatment course when our loved one cannot. We must know what to expect and what to do in order to minimize and manage very real risks. The consequences of failure range from close calls to significant harm to lifelong regret.
After my parents’ troublesome deaths I vowed not to fail again, and to help others use what I would learn. It took years, but I got to the bottom of things. My books and live presentations explore the heart of matters that providers don't address. Windrum’s Matrix of Dying Terms™ helps us talk more clearly about the deaths we want (and don't want). Windrum’s Never Say Die Rap™ summarizes our quandary while enlivening the conversation for young adult to early-elder audiences.
