The Importance of Having an End-of-Life Care Plan
When Maria's father suffered a massive stroke, her family was thrust into crisis. As he lay unconscious in the ICU, the doctors asked about his wishes for life-sustaining treatment. Did he want to be placed on a ventilator? Would he want CPR if his heart stopped? What about a feeding tube? Maria and her siblings looked at each other helplessly. They had never discussed these questions with their father, and now they were forced to make life-altering decisions without knowing what he would have wanted. "We were completely unprepared," Maria recalls. "My brother thought Dad would want everything [...]