re: Living Will - To Give Up or to be a Burden?

My mother has the Alzheimer's gene ... she's been tested. Having to make decisions as a family when HER mother was dying was horrendous and tore the siblings apart. Really.

Not long after my grandmother died (I was 21 or so) my mother made her living will out and made me be a witness to it. She didn't want anyone to feel bad about what decisions were made as they were really hers to be carried out. She addressed life support, feeding tubes, and not sure what else.

That said, I work in healthcare and have seen families totally freak out while mom/dad is coding and despite a living will, the family can override it ...

No one wants to think about it but I'm glad to know what my mom's wishes are now that she's in her right mind. I may feel bad carrying them out but I'll know what she wanted.