If you become gravely ill and end up in ICU, will your doctor know your desires? Will your family? Chances are they won't. And when those answers aren't known, conflict often ensues. That's why Dr. Catherine Pesek Bird wants to have a conversation with you about your health and what to do when it fails and someone else has to make a life-or-death decision for you.
Your Voice, Your Choice: Personalizing Your Healthcare Decisions is your personal consultation with Catherine. In this book, she sets out to help you ensure your voice is heard-loud and clear-and that your choices are honored if and when that time comes.
Catherine explains the various kinds of advanced directives and helps you determine the one that's best for you. She goes over your options if one of your major organs begins to fail. She even discusses the importance of having spiritual support, what to do when children are involved, and making the decision to withdraw care.
Your Voice, Your Choice not only helps prepare you to make the health-care decisions that are best for you but also empowers you to talk about those decisions with the people who matter most. /p>