The joy of growing up for me was to be on my own, make my own way, and be myself. Of course, accomplishing these goals is more than the compilation of many birthdays, and is often not easy. Yet multiple decades later, I now hold dear many values and viewpoints which make me–me! And the same is true for many of us, across all walks of human life. The opportunity to represent and guide your own life is an innate part of being yourself.
When Dementia Takes Hold
This treasured aspect of humanity is impacted when dementia develops and takes hold. Medical professionals often talk about Alzheimer’s disease (the most common form of dementia) being one of the most feared diseases because of this impact to “self”–self-representation and self-determination.
I witnessed this first-hand, watching my grandmother deteriorate from Alzheimer’s disease. Like too many others, the disease slowly but surely removed the ability for my grandmother to represent herself. She could no longer talk and had no capacity to express herself–her wishes, views, or needs. My grandmother passed away after years of 24×7 care in different nursing homes which kept her alive, but sadly were not informed to customize their care to her wishes and needs.
Representing Ourselves Now
While we do not yet have a way to fully avoid the future possibility of debilitating dementia, we do have the opportunity to communicate our own wishes, views, and needs. We can represent ourselves now. The following resources are ways to communicate to both loved ones and health care providers:
A health care directive for dementia
Developed by Dr. Barak Gaster via the dementia-directive.org and available for download from our site, this directive describes three levels or stages of dementia impact. For each stage, you may select from a set of three goals to communicate the type of care you would want to receive.
A letter added as an amendment to a general health care directive
Created by author Katy Butler, and shared via the Conversation Project organization, this letter can be used as-is, or as a template and modified per your wishes. It provides a thorough listing of specific guidance for various care and treatment options when one can no longer represent oneself.
A dementia directive or amendment serves to clearly inform loved ones and health care teams. And though currently neither is legally binding, those who are in a position to care for you will be enabled and encouraged to honor you by aligning future care to your views and wishes. Your own voice will be communicated and clear.
To read more about this topic, please visit our website.
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Becky Oliver is a volunteer with EOLCCA. Her professional life has been spent as part of Silicon Valley’s tech industry. Outside of work, her personal passions include contributing to end-of-life causes, with a specific interest in the nature of care for the aging and those nearing end of life.
Specific documentation is very helpful. I submitted it to our lawyer.