Letters: Have discussions about end-of-life decisions

Every year, thousands of Illinois families face the unbearable pain of losing loved ones unexpectedly. Sadly, many of those people did not have the opportunity to tell their families what kind of treatment and support they wanted until they were in the midst of a medical crisis or terminal diagnosis.

In honor of National Healthcare Decisions Day April 16, I implore my community members to consider starting these conversations with their loved ones.

Death is an inevitable part of life. It is important we get comfortable discussing it with each other. I feel so strongly about this issue that my husband and I have had these conversations with our sons. They know what we want for ourselves and they have seen our documents. Likewise, we asked them to articulate what they would want in the event they could not speak for themselves.

Residents of Illinois should be free to choose how they live - and when the time comes, what support they want when they are nearing the end of their life. An advance directive is a collection of documents outlining your wishes, and anyone over the age of 18 should consider having one in place. This private, personal decision should be accessible to all. With these in place, we can fully face what life has in store. What a gift.

Compassion & Choices, a national end-of-life options organization with an active group of Illinois volunteers, offers advance directive resources in its End of Life Toolkit, which you can download or order online.

Please consider talking with your family about your wishes on this National Healthcare Decisions Day.

Rachel Cook

Barrington