None of us can perfectly orchestrate the end of our life, but these legal resources can help ensure your wishes are respected.  What do you want the end of your life to look like?  What have you done to share and protect those wishes?

Prepare an Advance Directive

• Comfort & Consolation (Catholic healthcare decisions document at the back), written by the Bishops of Maryland
• Health Care Directives: A Catholic Perspective

Be sure to select a good health care proxy and keep him or her up to date on your wishes

• "When choosing someone to be your health care agent, it is important to choose someone known to be of good moral character, who knows you well, is familiar with your religious beliefs, has the ability to understand medical information, operates well under stressful conditions, and who will be sure that end-of-life decisions on your behalf are made in accord with the Church’s moral teachings.”

What's next?  Don't just sign it and stick it in a drawer.  Make sure your health care proxy has a copy (and the alternate(s) as well).  Update it frequently.

Shannon Hammond, Esq.; Hammond Law