After her husband was mentally incapacitated, Shoshana wondered who could make decisions about her healthcare, should the need arise.
Written testimony
Get disability life insurance when you’re young and healthy, because if you have an illness, it is difficult to get it. And also, it costs a lot of money to have a policy. Often, people take them out when their children are very young and it’s usually just a term kind of policy. But anything is better than nothing. When you’re done you’re schooling and you’re out in your workforce, make sure to look into this, even if there is a policy with your work plan, it’s good to get your own private policies because your work situation could change and you may not be under benefits anymore. You could give up your work because you’re starting a family and staying home with them. Your husband’s work situation could change. Get private policies on disability and life insurance. Protect yourself and your family when you’re healthy because it’s very, very costly and expensive down the road to get it when you’re diagnosed with a chronic illness. So that is something everyone should look into.
And also, your wills and your power of attorney, and your medical power of attorney—which I believe is called a healthcare directive—get those in place as well. We’re just working on that now. Have someone make decisions on—besides your spouse—on your illness, like your health. Also, have another person on it for your spouse. My spouse is the ill spouse, and I wouldn’t always trust his ability to make decisions about my health because of his cognitive impairment, and that’s why we put a second person on there. So, that is something that you should, people should consider, especially with an illness. Make sure there’s a second person on things. It’s not an easy thing to do, but they should have that in place as well. A healthcare directive is imperative with chronic illness, because you may not be able to make decisions at the time properly with emotional things in play. So, those are things that really should be taken care of early in life and kept up-to-date as well.
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- Interaction with professionals -ShoshanaShoshana disagreed with the diagnosis her husbands’ physician had given him, but later found out why the doctor had been cautious about being straightforward.
- Interaction with professionals -ShoshanaShoshana disagreed with the diagnosis her husbands’ physician had given him, but later found out why the doctor had been cautious about being straightforward.
- Resources -ShoshanaShoshana has maintained friendships with two other women who attended the support group.
- Effects of care recipients’ behaviour -ShoshanaShoshana’s husband has some behavioural issues and can be critical of her in public.
- Support from family and friends -ShoshanaThe support from Shoshana’s family-in-law was very poor, but she did receive great support from her sister.
- Social impact and lifestyle changes -ShoshanaShoshana is nervous about pursuing new friendships because her husband’s temperament has changed with his condition. She is worried about how others will perceive him.
- Providing support -ShoshanaFor Shoshana, caregiving is more about being a memory bank and a daily calendar.
- Legal issues -ShoshanaAfter her husband was mentally incapacitated, Shoshana wondered who could make decisions about her healthcare, should the need arise.
- Impact on health -ShoshanaShoshana advises anybody with suicidal thoughts to find a source of help.
- Advice for friends and family -ShoshanaShoshana suggests that for social events, people should always invite both the caregiver and care recipient; let them decide whether or not they are able to participate.