We’re faced with countless decisions each and every day. Will we get out of bed or hit the snooze button? Go to work or stay home? Wear the black shoes, brown shoes, or the tennies? Have breakfast or make do with a cup of coffee? Coffee at home or stop at the coffee shop? Carmel macchiato or a cappuccino? Debit card, credit card, or cash? Good grief!
We’re like decision- making machines, aren’t we? We make all these decisions in a single morning, and yet most of us hesitate to make the really important decisions in our lives, perhaps even life or death decisions.
Take, for instance, decisions regarding end-of-life care (often referred to as life support, advanced directives, or living wills). Somehow, when it comes to these decisions, we don’t want to think about them at all. This is completely understandable, maybe even healthy. In our minds eye we picture ourselves in good health and prosperous, and that’s actually good for us. Yet in the back of our minds we know the unthinkable can happen—things beyond our control, like a major accident or terminal illness. It can be frightening to think about the “what ifs,” but not thinking about them may put family, friends, or healthcare workers in the position of having to make these critical decisions for us. And what if their decisions aren’t what we would want? It’s much better when we think through these for ourselves.
At Krause Funeral Home we recommend a living will called “Five Wishes,“ and we have been doing so for years. It’s written in everyday language that anyone can understand, not in some legal mumbo-jumbo that only creates more apprehension and 
confusion.
Five wishes helps you communicate to your family and your doctor:
- Who you want to make health care decisions for you when you can’t make them.
- The kind of medical treatment you want or don’t want.
- How comfortable you want to be.
- How you want people to treat you.
- What you want your loved ones to know.
To obtain your free copy of The Five Wishes living will, please contact Krause Funeral Home at (414) 464-4640, or email preplan@krausefuneralhome.com. We will be happy to explain it in detail and answer any questions you may have.
Once your living will has been completed, it’s a good idea to review it every few years. Changes in our own health and in medical advances can affect our thoughts and feelings about which end-of-life treatments we prefer. Modifications can be made to an existing living will at any time, and with minimal effort.
Remember, we make decisions every day with varying degrees of importance. Making end-of-life decisions isn’t easy, but it’s necessary for peace of mind—if not for us, for those who love and care for us.