"The will of man is the kingdom of heaven."
J. J. W. Heinse
As long as we are responsive and able to express ourselves responsibly, doctors must follow our expressed wishes. If we are incapable of giving consent, ensures that our wishes are respected and carried out.
If we are no longer able to express ourselves, which becomes increasingly likely with advancing age, we can use a directive, written down in advance, to specify how doctors, relatives or trusted persons should decide on our behalf. Almost everyone knows about this. Unfortunately, far too few people in Germany still make use of this option. According to the RKI: 50.1% of women and 39.2% of men aged 50 and over stated that they had issued a living will in 2020/2021 (Journal of Health Monitoring 2023 8(3) https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Gesundheitsmonitoring/Gesundheitsberichterstattung/GBEDownloadsJ/FactSheets/JHealthMonit_2023_03_Patientenverfuegung.pdf?__blob=publicationFile. Many more have already dealt with this important topic at least once, and even have a first version of the form in their drawer. Nobody really wants to be dependent on other people's decisions, no longer have control about determining self or receive excessive medical treatment at the end of days. So why are living wills often not signed? On the other hand, drawing up a living will means coming to terms with one's own finiteness and being confronted with the frailty and transience of the body... Sometimes, however, drawing up a living will also means coming to terms with family members in the context of communicating one's own ideas. It suddenly becomes very intimate and feels so final... the form is put aside again, to be worked on tomorrow, story ends....
On Saturday afternoon, 2024/17/02 in the “Haus der Jugend” in Cuxhaven, the palliative doctor, Mr. Manuel G. Burkert, gave a lecture on the burning topic: "Expressing your will correctly - living wills in everyday life", following the invitation of the board of the “Hanel Seniorenstiftung” in Cuxhaven, Mrs. Anita Hanel. She recognized the needs of her target group, senior citizens, and approached our foundation with the aim of using her sound knowledge of living wills to allay the audience's fears and encourage them to take care of themselves in making provisions for times when they are no longer in control of their own affairs. And Ms. Hanel had a very good sense of the urgency and the need for knowledge that this topic entails, the venue was filled to capacity, and there were not just with senior citizens. The first burning questions from the audience came up during the lecture. It soon became clear that the 45-minute presentation would be exceeded. The goal was achieved. "It was a really successful and very informative afternoon. Even I was very overwhelmed that so many people attended," said a beaming Ms. Hanel at the end.
Living wills give us the right to a self-determined life until the end of our lives.
Let's seize the opportunity.