What Preps are you doing this week? Part 11

[ForgeCorvus]

Just updated my Advance Decision. Mother in Law is currently on palliative care due to multi organ failure and other illnesses and is nil by mouth. We were urged to rush to hospital in the early hours of Saturday, she is currently rallying. Her care in hospital has been mostly good, although despite being NBM she keeps being brought meals and the whole NBM thing is due to aspiration twice in the last few days, good job we have been around to refuse the meals on her behalf. It appears that staff handovers are not as they should be and are several days behind with her current situation. Parents in Law have apparently never discussed their end of life wishes and my husband and his brothers are pretty clueless about their wishes, end of life stuff etc. Husband has POA which I suggested and there is a will in place but lack of communication between the brothers and their parents has made everything so difficult and complicated. I have said this before and will say it again, please get your house in order whilst you are able to.

My mum told me recently she wants to be DNR. I need to suss that out. She can do a living will. I'd have to print and post it. Doesn't do internet. Also there is power of attorney to think about.

If you get a DNR, make sure its an original form..... Copies, even of the blank form which the person involved has then filled in, are not accepted. (it happened with a family member)

[Frnc]

I've arranged for her to be sent a living will booklet from Compassion In Dying. You can write your own DNR clause into it, it's not actually in the tick boxes. It's quite long, 33 pages, but the actual form is just a couple of pages or so. Most of it is advice/explanation. They are a charity and are linked on an NHS page about it.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-li ... treatment/

[PPrep]

I've arranged for her to be sent a living will booklet from Compassion In Dying. You can write your own DNR clause into it, it's not actually in the tick boxes. It's quite long, 33 pages, but the actual form is just a couple of pages or so. Most of it is advice/explanation. They are a charity and are linked on an NHS page about it.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-li ... treatment/

Thank you for the link; I'll look into it. I produced a "Living Will" some years ago, essentially saying I didn't want to be resuscitated or receive aggressive treatment in any form. This was edited and approved via my GP. It should be on my NHS record, but their record - keeping isn't brilliant. There's a risk of being resuscitated by some overenthusiastic doctor without reference to my living will. I've thought of having "Do Not Resuscitate" tattood on my chest!

[GillyBee]

I've thought of having "Do Not Resuscitate" tattood on my chest!

That is not such a bad idea. My Dad was furious after he crashed in X-Ray and was brought back for another 6 months of pain because his record with the big red DNR was upstairs sitting on the end of his bed. This was 30 years ago but I can't exactly see the people in X-Ray checking the computer before starting crash procedures in 2024.....

[PPrep]

I've just discovered that DNR bracelets and pendants are available on eBay. Also available are bracelets and pendants which can be customised, such as "J. Smith. Allergic to ......." or "S. Jones. Type 2 Diabetes".

Back to my previous post; I decided not to do a "Power of Attorney" as it seemed complicated at the time.

[Frnc]

I've arranged for her to be sent a living will booklet from Compassion In Dying. You can write your own DNR clause into it, it's not actually in the tick boxes. It's quite long, 33 pages, but the actual form is just a couple of pages or so. Most of it is advice/explanation. They are a charity and are linked on an NHS page about it.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-li ... treatment/

Thank you for the link; I'll look into it. I produced a "Living Will" some years ago, essentially saying I didn't want to be resuscitated or receive aggressive treatment in any form. This was edited and approved via my GP. It should be on my NHS record, but their record - keeping isn't brilliant. There's a risk of being resuscitated by some overenthusiastic doctor without reference to my living will. I've thought of having "Do Not Resuscitate" tattood on my chest!

My mum phoned to say she got the form. Said she couldn't make head nor tail of it. Can't say I blame her. My bro lives a lot closer and has a car, so he visits once a week. Also he is familiar with law and to some extent the NHS and medical. He advises doctors on legal stuff. So obviously he is can take it home and read it.

She did ask if, or say that, her GP would need to see it, so she must have read that. I wasn't sure, but from what you say, it makes sense. You need people in the NHS to be aware of it. You can get a wallet sized card. I also read something about a message in a bottle in the fridge. Apparently people know to look for it. I'll have a proper read through it myself. I'm not sure if she asked if she has to fill in the DNR form GPs have, or if I'm just thinking about what I read. I think this form is an alternative to that.

After all this, there is actually another form you can do, additional, I think it is for how you are cared for if unable to say.

[PPrep]

My mum phoned to say she got the form. Said she couldn't make head nor tail of it. Can't say I blame her. My bro lives a lot closer and has a car, so he visits once a week. Also he is familiar with law and to some extent the NHS and medical. He advises doctors on legal stuff. So obviously he is can take it home and read it.

After all this, there is actually another form you can do, additional, I think it is for how you are cared for if unable to say.

I have a copy of the The Compassion in Dying form. I've gone over it; there seems a lot to it, but is not too difficult with careful reading and filling in over a day or two. A lawyer is not needed for the basic Advance Decision/Living Will form. The one I submitted has a different format to the Compassion in Dying version, but was accepted by my GP. By extension the Compassion in Dying form should be acceptable. I think the additional form you mention is a Power of Attorney which allows a third party to make decisions about property and other matters if one is too unwell to do so. This is explained on Page 26 of the Compassion in Dying form.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Just caught a potential house fire before it started had a twin usb combined in a single 13a socket for a good few years... Just been sat watching Glastonbury Stella in hand could hear a slight crackling discounted at first as the dishwasher humming in the kitchen / sound on the TV ... Then got the whiff of hot electrics sort of fishy smell not strong but I recognise it so start in the kitchen .. not tye dishwasher no smell ... Mute TV ... Ear drawn to the socket turn off TV. Still noise round usb ports it was warm .. not hot but no way should the socket be warm even with a fan heater plugged in they dont get that warm.. .. whipped tye faceplate off yep something has fried.. wiring cool but socket hot .. currently isolated socket removed and wires shoved into some wago connectors to keep it safe if someone turned the rcbo breaker back on (it's a dedicated 16a radial circuit which used to be a fso supplying the old back boiler ) so tomorrow guessing its Screwfix for a new socket... .

Still no harm done least I was home

[Arzosah]

I'm glad all's well, Y/Andy! Things will keep happening

As for me, I'm trying to get the garden under control after No Mow May - I used washing up gloves to pull up some nettles, and usually that works 100% but now, maybe 16 hours after I pulled them up, my hands are still stinging. Desperate to plant out a few pots of chives, and some marigolds I grew too. Bees need food

[GillyBee]

If I remember correctly being stung by nettles is a folk cure for arthritis. So there may be a silver lining in the eway of improved joint health. Or maybe the nettle stings are a good distraction from arthritis pain.
Either way, I hope the stings all settle down very soon. Have you tried anthisan cream or dock leaves?