As we age and find that our bodies are trying to betray us, we will need the assistance of others for day to day activities and decisions will need to be made regarding health care. When we find ourselves helping with these decisions for our loved ones the steps we need to take are much the same. Ask questions until you and your family are satisfied that you have enough information to make a good choice.
What constitutes a good choice is unique to every person and family. Some folks may want only enough care to be comfortable and others may want everything that the medical community can provide. Most of us will fall somewhere in between. We also need to remember that choices may shift over time and our health care proxy needs to know if we have had a change of heart concerning what level of care we want so that our desires may be respected.
It is also important to be sure that our health care proxy is able to follow through with our wishes. If we want to be made comfortable and decline the use of machines or feeding tubes to keep us alive and our health care proxy is insistent that all medical science be attempted to keep us alive there will probably be a moral dilemma to be resolved if and when these choices need to be made.
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