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How To Make This Easier
See How To Make It Easier To Choose a Medical Decision Maker
For some people, choosing and talking to a decision maker may be hard.
Click the pictures to see how other people made it easier.
For Jorge, thinking about it was scary
Jorge: Thinking about this kind of stuff was scary and used to upset me. But then I realized that I didn’t have to make any FINAL decisions.
All I had to do was get started—by choosing someone to help make medical decisions for me in the future. That part seemed fairly easy to do and wasn’t so scary.
Helen would rather leave her health to prayer
Helen: I have strong religious beliefs and they guide my medical decisions. For instance, it is against my beliefs to get a blood transfusion. I told my medical decision maker and my doctor that, no matter what, I never want one, even if the doctor is recommending it.
James was afraid to burden family and friends
James: At first I didn’t want to upset my wife by talking about this stuff. I also felt guilty because I thought I’d be putting a huge burden on her shoulders.
Cynthia: It would actually be a much bigger burden if we didn’t talk about it. Then what if the doctors turned to me at some point and asked me to make decisions for my husband? I wouldn’t know what to do!
James: Talking was a really good thing to do.
Cynthia: Right. Talking about this stuff is never easy, but it’s much easier now when we’re both healthy. Now I feel more prepared.