Do you have Advance Directives?
 

Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will - do you have them?
I haven’t looked at mine in years. Probably ought to get them out and check them over.
I got asked before anesthesia on the minor Surgeries I’ve had lately. I say “yes” and that’s the end of it. They never ask where it is or who my “designated driver” is. I find that odd, it makes me wonder what they would do if I clocked out on them.

They'd resuscitate you unless you told them before the surgery to not do so.

Next!

The living will is supposed to tell them what to do, but if they don't ask for it, how are they going to know what I want?

Yes I do, plus my house is held in a real estate trust by my children.

Yes.

My wife and I both do - and are setting up the real estate trust for the kids now that the farm is free and clear.

My father had some advanced directives that made it very easy for us - make sure you communicate your desires to family members or trusted friends. My father was very specific and made sure I understood exactly what he wanted.

He took himself off chemo when it was clear the Emperor of All Maladies won...he died sentient and peacefully 3 months later.

Yes. Both myself and my wife.

Wife and I both have one - as well as Power of Attorney and wills. I don't know the legality of the directives in all 50 states, but I'd highly suggest one anywhere they are legal. I wouldn't want the court(s) to decide for me or my family what is best - and that could be the option without the document.

It's a question they're mandated to ask by the organizations that accredit surgery centers. Effectively, because Medicare requires that information to be documented, there's a form for it. Realistically, for minor procedures no one expects you to die, so it's unlikely the staff make a big deal of you providing proof of your answer.

Yep, for years. And they are in my wife's purse and a copy provided every time that I have surgery, from knee scopes to my valve replacement. If ***** breaks bad, it's time to go and save a bunch of $$ and emotional wear and tear on others.
I get that some feel that there is always hope but I am not one of them. Kept alive by machines or in a vegetative state vs death... Is there really a difference?

I have one. Mine says to delete my browsing history after pulling the plug.

What got me to thinking about this was a Planet Money podcast.

https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=496751771

It's about a town where almost everyone has advance directives and it is saving both money and heartache.

I've managed the estates of two family members, one with an AD and one without. My mother had one, and when the time came, the four of us kids met and agreed the conditions of the directive had been met. It was a terrible, weighty decision we took, but the existence of her words through the AD made it significantly easier to assure ourselves that her wishes were being fulfilled.

My cousin had no AD when he was in a motorcycle accident that left him brain dead but still alive, on a ventilator. In addition to a massive head injury, he had a compound fracture of his leg. A couple days after the accident, a doctor called me to ask for permission to operate on it, a move that I resisted as pointless. The doc was concerned that any further delay would render the leg unsaveable. Since we no AD, and I lived clear across the country, it was hard to argue what the patient would want. His girlfriend, who he lived with, couldn't deal with any of it. After 9 days in the ICU, during which he was never responsive in any way, the docs finally took him off the ventilator and he died. The hospital bill was $500K. An AD would have alleviated a lot of suffering and expense.

Frequently you can't go in for surgery unless you suspend any DNR orders.