My sister Jane was a devoted mother and a dear friend. She advocated for employee rights at work. But when the cancer spread through her body, Jane spoke nothing but treatment and being a survivor. She drafted a financial power of attorney and a will but did not sign it.

At the hospital, less than a week after Jane died, her oncologist finally found a way to tell her that she didn’t want her to linger.

Three days before she died, she had us call her lawyer. He brought her financial power of attorney and her will to her hospital and had her sign it. Jane had little power to sign her will. She could only have an “X” on her power of attorney. So I signed it as a witness to her seal.

The only clue that helped her plan the funeral was a piece of paper on which she wrote the title of a soulful hymn.

Thank you for including our story — Jane’s story —. And if it hasn’t already, it probably will.

But what I’ve learned is that their story—and yours—can be different.

I’ve seen the devastating consequences of not talking about the inevitability of death, but I’ve also learned that these conversations are essential.

Before her final illness, my mother, who had outlived Jane, had completed living wills and medical powers of attorney. As her death neared, her mother expressed peace about what she was going through. She felt less stressed and anxious than she thought she would. The work her mother has done to prepare herself and her children has given us all her confidence that the care we give her is the care she most wanted. I was.

These experiences with Mother and Jane were formative. I have completed my Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney. I shared them with the people closest to me. And I volunteer at my church and the Arizona Funeral Consumers Alliance to help people like you complete living wills and medical powers of attorney.

Medical Advance Care Directives (living wills) authorize the types of care you want and what you don’t want if you can’t speak for yourself. Your medical power of attorney authorizes who will speak for you if you are unable to do so. You can also use a mental health care power of attorney to appoint someone to represent you if you are no longer able to make future mental health care decisions.

Pima County residents are fortunate to have the Arizona End-of-Life Care Partnership established in Tucson and the United Way in Southern Arizona. My organization, the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Arizona, is one of his EOLCP partners who are passionate, service-oriented and diverse. We’re all here to make it easy for you to fill out these important documents, including your preferred language, and help you have those important conversations. please contact us at the following address: azendoflifecare.org/resources/ Or call (520) 485-4484.

April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day. Make that day a day to check off three tasks. That means completing the paperwork for your advanced care plan, talking to the people who matter most to you, and submitting a copy to the Arizona Health Care Register. Make National Healthcare Decisions Day 2023 a day to do something great for yourself and the people you love.