A Fascinating Story About Life, Death and Living Wills

[malaise]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/nyregion/09bruce.html?pagewanted=all
<snip>
A fall and other ailments had forced Mr. Llewellyn into rehabilitation, and after several months, his doctors said he was well enough to return to his Central Park West apartment. But his wife of nearly 30 years disagreed, saying he was too ill.

Finally, he persuaded three longtime friends to supersede his wife’s authority over his affairs. They became his court-appointed guardians, assumed control of his bank accounts, found him a new apartment, hired staff members and brought in flowers, artwork and musicians to brighten his days.

But months later, when he began losing weight and the guardians authorized a feeding tube, his wife strenuously objected. She cited his living will, which explicitly barred tubes and other artificial life-prolonging measures. “What happened to, ‘First, do no harm’?” she wrote angrily to one doctor.

The Llewellyn case, as shown through interviews and court records unsealed at the request of The New York Times, serves as a primer on the myriad complications that can occur when a person, in this case a once-powerful and influential person, loses the ability to fully articulate his needs. Factors like money or marital discord — there were both in the Llewellyn case — further complicate the issue.

[virgogal]

1. I have my living will,health care proxy,and would like to have

DNR tatooed on my forehead. :-)

It's complicated.