To Your Health

I am a healthy woman.  I eat right, have no weight problems, exercise regularly, and have regular check ups and tests for a woman my age (55). All in all I get a gold star.  Most often I am very happy, I belong to a loving family, I love to create and I love to dance and sing, sometimes I am more than lonely, sometimes overwhelmingly sad, I am not rich, money is sometimes a factor though I have had a pretty good job for many years and am mostly content,  a fairly normal life...I am sitting here with a Health Care Proxy in front of me something I have never even thought about though in my business we promote them regularly for the clients my company provides services to (adults with developmental disabilities).    I am looking at it and thinking at exactly what point would I want my daughters to advocate my wishes.  Should I make them responsible or choose another family member? So many questions are running around my head right now and I am not going to rush to completion.  Why this? Why today?  Because two people I have worked alongside for many years and both reside in my town, my community, both young women 45 and 52 suffered life altering strokes over the weekend.  They were vibrant women active with children and many friends and family members.  One women like me is single.  She did not have a HCP in place.  Why would she? What would happen to her was never even a possbility in her mind.  She went to an early morning Zumba class then to have a facial where she announced she wasn't feeling well, brought by ambulance to local hospital then airlifted to Boston, she had one stroke, then another.  The blood clot embedded into the wall of the brain.  There is nothing that can be done for here.  Because there was no DNR in place the doctors are keeping her alive. She is currently in an induced coma and paralyzed from the mouth down.  She is on breathing and feeding tubes. The most unfortunate and sad part of this is that the Doctors will have to wake her up and ask her what she wants to do.  I think pergatory is right here on earth. I'm not going to let this happen to me.  It doesn't have to happen to you.  Health Care Proxy remember these words.