Talking about one’s end of life wishes is typically uncomfortable for most.
We think of the subject as one for our aging parents to have with us when they are “old”. We don’t usually think it is a necessary subject for younger adults to know about. The truth is, many younger adults are already caregivers and they must deal with these issues.is that of Anna, a bright and ambitious teenager when her father had to retire from work on disability. Three years later, he passed away. Anna was an only child, living with her mom.
Anna’s mother, Linda had already retired from teaching at a university. She had a pension and some income from rental real estate. She was working part time in the field of education. At only age 59, Linda began to show signs of memory loss. She was diagnosed withand had to stop working. Anna and Linda lived on Linda’s income. Linda’s dementia progressed. At age 21, just graduating from college and starting her career, Anna became the agent and power of attorney for her mother.
Anna was faced with every decision about her mother all on her own. She got advice from time to time at AgingParents.com but it was a huge burden to manage all this while getting her first jobs and establishing her own career. When end of life decisions had to be made Anna did her best to honor what she thought her mom would want.It was a heavy burden on Anna. When the doctors asked her what she wanted to do at decision time for Linda, she was in tears.
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