Baby Boomers Don't Even Think About Living Wills, Never Mind Making Them!
"I don't have a living will."
"Neither do I. I'm not old enough, yet!"
Imagine this is a conversation between a 47-year old and a 64-year old. Both of them are technically Baby Boomers. Both of them do not have living wills. And why should they? They feel great. They take no meds. They are slim and fit, exercise regularly and eat healthily (vegetables, free-ranged chicken, fish, free range animal products, few carbs and no white flour items) and they look twenty years younger than they are. For them 60 is the new 40!
And that is the problem! Like teenagers who take tremendous risks, oftentimes without their parents ever knowing, these middle-aged and senior Baby Boomers have forgotten that they are mortal. That's why they don't even consider drawing up an "end of life document" like a living will.
According to an AP LifeGoesStrong.com poll, 64 percent of boomers born between 1946 and 1964 do not have a health care proxy or living will. The poll which was conducted June 3-12 by Knowledge Networks of California, comprised online interviews with 1,416 adults, including 1,078 baby boomers.
The health care proxy, also known as a health care power of attorney, allows an individual to select a person he or she trusts to make decisions about medical care should the patient become incapacitated. That and a living will in the hands of a relative or legal representative absolve them of the responsibility of deciding what to do if a patient has a stroke or heart attack and cannot speak for themselves about treatment options, like being put on a respirator or not, being given a feeding tube or not. In other words, extraordinary life-saving measures.
Kathy Brandt, senior vice president at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization said living wills and health care proxies are a good idea for everyone regardless of age, health, family longevity and family structure.
According to Brandt, the two documents can curtail stress for families having to make difficult life and death decisions. They can prevent infighting and provide patients with the care they themselves have decided to receive beforehand, when they made the decision in a sound and rational mental state.
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