More Healthcare Directive Elements to Think About
Specific treatments your parents would like withheld
On the flip side, your parents may also indicate the medical care, including the treatments mentioned above, that they would want withheld if they're unable to express their wishes personally.
Instructions for comfort care
The issue of providing comfort care -- relief from pain and discomfort -- has become somewhat controversial because medical experts disagree over whether patients close to death actually feel pain and over whether some pain-relieving treatments really act to prolong life. If your parents have strong feelings about whether they'd want comfort care withheld or provided, they can include them in their directives.
Instructions regarding artificially administered food and water
Most patients close to death can't eat or drink on their own. The medical solution is to provide a mix of fluids and nutrients through the patient's veins, nose, or stomach. Controversies surround this practice, too, depending on whether it's considered to cure an illness or save a life. In most states, your parents can include wishes for whether they'd want food and water -- typically called nutrition and hydration -- withheld or provided.
Instructions for donating organs at the time of death
In a few states, your parents can designate in their directives whether they'd like to donate some or all of their usable organs when they die.
