WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.259 Hi, this is Clayton Vandiver, your Lightkeeper, 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:04.700 and this summer we have a very special treat 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:07.299 for you. It's called Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:10.980 It's not a new clothing line, but that's a pretty 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:14.240 good idea. Actually, it's just shorter episodes, 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:18.519 under 10 minutes long, of our most popular episodes 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:21.059 that we keep getting requests to play again. 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:25.100 So here's part two of the Lightkeepers Podcast 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:28.969 Shorts. Hi and welcome to this edition of the 00:00:28.969 --> 00:00:31.550 Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:00:31.690 --> 00:00:33.789 your Light Keeper, with the show dedicated to 00:00:33.789 --> 00:00:36.850 everyone who wants to get the most out of life 00:00:36.850 --> 00:00:41.869 that they can. Palliative care, hospice, it isn't 00:00:41.869 --> 00:00:45.689 just for the end of days, it isn't just for the 00:00:45.689 --> 00:00:48.770 last few hours. Also, we're going to be talking 00:00:48.770 --> 00:00:54.049 about advanced directives. On this edition... 00:00:54.329 --> 00:01:24.989 of the Light Keepers Podcast. Before we start, 00:01:25.109 --> 00:01:27.090 I'd like to invite you to please leave your questions 00:01:27.090 --> 00:01:29.569 or comments below. We love to hear from you, 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:31.890 and every week we answer those questions and 00:01:31.890 --> 00:01:34.849 comments that appear online every Wednesday evening 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:39.909 at 7 p .m. Eastern. So before we run out of time 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:42.109 tonight, let's go back and talk about those advanced 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:44.129 directives that we mentioned at the top of the 00:01:44.129 --> 00:01:46.480 show. What are those? How do they play into all 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.859 this? So advanced directives are documents that 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:53.400 people draft to outline what type of medical 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:56.200 treatment they would want should they become 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.340 seriously ill and in a situation where they can 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:02.219 no longer make their own medical decisions. It's 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:04.459 kind of like speaking for yourself before you're 00:02:04.459 --> 00:02:06.659 in the situation where you need to speak for 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:10.629 yourself. Ah, because once they're in the care, 00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:13.409 oftentimes their ability to communicate may be 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:15.830 diminished, may be eliminated. Correct. So you 00:02:15.830 --> 00:02:19.009 need some form of document or legal form. Well, 00:02:19.030 --> 00:02:21.810 how legal are these forms, these advanced directives? 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:26.340 So advanced directives come in a lot of... variations. 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:28.800 There's a lot of different documents that are 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.599 circulating out there and of course they're the 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:32.659 basic kind that you can download off the internet. 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.199 As long as it is signed and witnessed and notarized 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:40.639 it can be considered legally binding. There is 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.620 a document called the Five Wishes which is legally 00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:48.039 binding in 48 states and that one is probably 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.180 the most common and it's a very simplified document 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:55.120 which basically just covers three scenarios would 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.759 you or would you not want life support in those 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.759 situations and advanced directives like that 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:04.500 including advanced directives drafted by attorneys 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:09.979 oftentimes will focus purely on end of life situations 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:13.199 do you or do you not want life support and these 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:17.560 documents can they're great to have but they 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:20.840 can be a little lacking for one simple reason 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:26.439 they don't talk about when you would want those 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.759 items to become active. So most people think, 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:33.599 not until I can no longer make my own decisions. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:37.699 Okay, so you do not want life support if you 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:40.960 have no quality of life. Right. Who defines quality 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:46.370 of life? Everyone has their own quality of life 00:03:46.370 --> 00:03:48.569 definition internally, but it's communicating 00:03:48.569 --> 00:03:51.669 that to others that we run into the challenge. 00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:54.030 Quality of life is very subjective, and that's 00:03:54.030 --> 00:03:56.530 why I always recommend anyone who has advanced 00:03:56.530 --> 00:04:00.009 directives, it's wonderful to state, no, I do 00:04:00.009 --> 00:04:02.990 not want care, yes, I do want care, but it's 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:06.490 also important to identify that unless. Yes, 00:04:06.590 --> 00:04:09.590 I want life support, unless there's no hope of 00:04:09.590 --> 00:04:14.609 recovery. No, I don't want life support. unless 00:04:14.609 --> 00:04:18.269 there's a chance that I can recover back to this 00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:21.149 level of quality of life. What does quality of 00:04:21.149 --> 00:04:24.310 life look like? That's an important item to define. 00:04:24.670 --> 00:04:27.209 So before making these sorts of documents or 00:04:27.209 --> 00:04:30.310 these sorts of decisions, that's one of the things 00:04:30.310 --> 00:04:33.029 that I guess our listeners and our viewers really 00:04:33.029 --> 00:04:36.759 need to think about a little bit. Work on defining 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:38.980 for themselves. This might be something that 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.660 families and caregivers can be involved with. 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:44.560 That's an open conversation. It's not necessarily 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.079 a comfortable conversation. No, a lot of people 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:51.459 don't want to talk about it. And it is an important 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:54.439 conversation to have, though, because advance 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.019 directives are great to have in place, but you 00:04:58.019 --> 00:05:02.439 have to know that your loved ones are going to 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:05.800 follow those advance directives. When you can 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.920 no longer speak for yourself. Of course, of course. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.800 Well, we know now a little bit more about advanced 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.879 directives, about hospice, that it's not just 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.939 for those last few days. It has resources that 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:21.160 can help as far out as six months. Is that true 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:25.480 in every state? So, yes, that is across the United 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:29.379 States. Six months or less is the standard. Now, 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:31.899 there is another part of that. I don't want people 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:35.769 to think that. Just because they're in hospice, 00:05:35.769 --> 00:05:38.629 it means that they are going to die within six 00:05:38.629 --> 00:05:42.170 months. I actually had a patient, when I was 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:45.589 working at an inpatient unit for hospice, I had 00:05:45.589 --> 00:05:49.170 a patient ask me when he was going to die. And 00:05:49.170 --> 00:05:55.110 I gave him a brief look over and I checked the 00:05:55.110 --> 00:05:57.629 bottom of his feet and I said, no, it's not here. 00:05:57.750 --> 00:05:59.610 And he said, what's not there? I said, an expiration 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:04.610 date. We don't know. We don't know when our time 00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:08.310 is up. Of course. And I have seen people that 00:06:08.310 --> 00:06:12.290 were on hospice for over a year. Over a year, 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:15.610 they were receiving hospice support because their 00:06:15.610 --> 00:06:18.389 health continued to decline, but it declined 00:06:18.389 --> 00:06:22.029 slowly. And for a year, they were able to get 00:06:22.029 --> 00:06:24.930 the benefit of hospice support for them and their 00:06:24.930 --> 00:06:27.670 families. And everyone's situation is a little 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:31.870 bit different. That's why we say that it's all 00:06:31.870 --> 00:06:34.509 a highly personal choice. No conversation that 00:06:34.509 --> 00:06:37.569 we have on the Light Keepers podcast should ever 00:06:37.569 --> 00:06:41.230 take the place of your own medical care, your 00:06:41.230 --> 00:06:43.829 own medical care team, your personal advisor, 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:46.910 who should always be consulted by you on your 00:06:46.910 --> 00:06:50.379 specific situation. individual needs correct 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:54.839 but people should not be afraid to advocate for 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:57.100 themselves if it's something they feel particularly 00:06:57.100 --> 00:07:00.259 strongly about and I can give you a wonderful 00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:05.459 example of this a personal example okay my father 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:09.759 had lung cancer and he had already had part of 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.860 one lung removed and they found cancer in the 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:16.290 other lung and He didn't want any more surgeries, 00:07:16.410 --> 00:07:18.709 and he didn't want to do the cancer treatment. 00:07:18.870 --> 00:07:21.329 He wanted hospice so he could be comfortable 00:07:21.329 --> 00:07:24.629 and actually have a decent quality of life for 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:27.649 his remaining time. And his physician refused 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:30.490 to sign the order. It does require a medical 00:07:30.490 --> 00:07:33.209 order to get into hospice, to start hospice care. 00:07:33.629 --> 00:07:37.439 His physician refused it. would not sign the 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.160 order for him to receive hospice care unless 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:43.360 he was willing to go through chemotherapy first 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:48.519 to give it a try. And we had to fight that. And 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:52.139 we did end up having to go to the surgeon who 00:07:52.139 --> 00:07:56.959 had done the lung removal, the lobectomy, to 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:59.939 get that order signed so that he could receive 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:04.149 hospice support. A lot of doctors are so focused 00:08:04.149 --> 00:08:07.910 on saving lives and preserving life that they're 00:08:07.910 --> 00:08:10.850 not willing to give up. And they do so with the 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:14.050 best of intentions. They really do mean well. 00:08:14.129 --> 00:08:17.730 They want to keep their patient alive. But that 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:21.250 may not be what the patient wants. Right. And, 00:08:21.329 --> 00:08:23.829 of course, from a social work perspective, that's 00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:27.920 exactly what you do. You advocate. for that patient's 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.019 rights and give them their options so that they 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.639 can make the best decision for themselves. And 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.580 that's what we try to do right here on the Light 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:38.759 Keepers podcast. Of course, it's always good 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:41.240 to talk about the quality of life and events 00:08:41.240 --> 00:08:45.059 because every single one of us is likely to go 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.639 through some of these events at some point in 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:51.759 our lives, either not prepared at all or very 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.399 well prepared indeed. from watching us and joining 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:58.419 us here on the Lightkeepers podcast each and 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:02.960 every Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. We 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:05.559 hope you found some information that was helpful. 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:07.809 On this edition of the Light Keepers podcast, 00:09:08.070 --> 00:09:10.330 please leave your questions and comments below. 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:13.830 We love to hear from you each week. The Light 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:16.309 Keepers podcast is an exclusive production of 00:09:16.309 --> 00:09:19.250 Vanimation Studios and is brought to you by A 00:09:19.250 --> 00:09:22.230 Guiding Light, a 501c3 nonprofit organization 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:25.669 dedicated to education and information that allows 00:09:25.669 --> 00:09:28.710 informed preparation for living the very best 00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:31.879 life possible. The mission of A Guiding Light 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.580 is to provide education about life planning, 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:38.500 guidance, and counseling that eases an individual's 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:40.720 transition and guides them and their family, 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:44.139 regardless of their ability to pay, through options 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:46.639 that improve the quality of their remaining days. 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.039 The organization is committed to training professionals 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.299 who will help you find the best information and 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:56.240 options to meet your planning needs that are 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.740 available in your area so you can be aware of 00:09:58.740 --> 00:10:02.419 your choices. confident in your decisions, and 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:06.080 at peace that you have made the very best decisions 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:10.919 to live life your way. For more information on 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:12.879 A Guiding Light, please visit the website at 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:16.279 aguidinglight .org, or to make a tax -deductible 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.720 contribution, please visit the donation page 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.299 on the website where you'll find tax information 00:10:22.299 --> 00:10:25.480 and the address to send a check, which is also 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:30.240 on the screen right below me. We still have so 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.399 much more great information to bring you in the 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:34.960 coming weeks. We hope you'll join us. And your 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.220 questions and comments, we always love to hear 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:39.360 from you. Speaking of that, hit the like and 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:41.480 subscribe button right now while you're thinking 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:43.940 about it. Turn on that notify bell so you'll 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:47.519 catch every single episode. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:49.919 the Light Keeper. We'll see you then.