Do It Now.
If you have read any of my posts, I will just repeat myself for some and say that as a social worker, no one calls our department if everything is going well in their lives. Something has gone wrong for the Doctor - or your own recognition of need for help - sends you our way.
It is not trite to say “failure to plan is a plan for failure” when it comes to end of life. We’re all going there, and one way to help you live the best life possible TODAY AND TOMORROW - Parkinson’s or not - is to have a plan NOW. I won’t harp on that any longer, I’ll just share this article from Forbes.
Luke Perry Protected His Family with Estate Planning
I’m not sure if I was too old for Beverly Hills 90210 or just totally not interested…but any of us in our 50’s can’t escape pausing when hearing of the sudden illness and premature death of someone at 52 years old. We think of “stroke” as an old person’s disease, which can mean, in thinking it couldn’t happen to us, we fail to plan. Even finding out you have Parkinson’s, or Dementia with Lewy Bodies, or Alzheimer’s…fear can overwhelm any common sense about the realities of how your life will end. I mean - some people have money and fame that block their sense of mortality. But not Luke Perry.
Without a proper legal document, Luke Perry's family may have needed an order from a probate court to terminate life support, at least if family members disagreed. That would have been a public and emotional process that would have prolonged his suffering and made it even harder for his family.
Luke loved his family, loved his kids - and had to be a decent enough guy that his fiance AND his ex wife were also by his side as his life here came to a close. Luke planned for success, and his kids and family are rich - not monetarily - for it.
The decision to allow Perry to die - when he was healthy and vibrant less than a week earlier - must have been difficult. The fact that the hospital allowed Perry's family to end life support means that Luke Perry likely had executed the proper legal documents so that his family could make the decision.
May we all care so much about those who love us - or like us a little - that we plan for their best interests.
