From the moment we enter the world, our lives are being planned.

Birthdays, holidays, coming-of-age celebrations, weddings, house hunting, becoming parents, college preparations, etc., consume our thoughts throughout the years.

Even planning for vacations takes up huge amounts of time. Our event preparations shouldn’t stop there.

How many of us really plan for what happens when we are coming to the end of our lives? Yes, people are becoming more involved in planning for retirement. Trusts are set up to provide for surviving loved ones.

We may even put together an advance directive, thinking this will take care of any questions that arise when we become ill.

Yet, often, it ends there. We don’t go the next step. We don’t tell our loved ones what we would like done when we become terminally ill. We don’t tell them what kind of funeral or service we want. We don’t pick a mortuary and make arrangements in advance. We simply don’t take our planning to the final step.

The hardest thing we have to do is acknowledge our mortality. Yes, we know that someday we’ll die; but we really don’t give much thought as to how that is going to happen. 

Hospice Services of Lake County is attempting to lift the taboo about addressing the issue of end-of-life conversations, in many cases creating a positive impact on the quality of life at late stages.

The organization has initiated the “My Life, My Way” campaign.

The campaign encourages community members to begin thinking about end-of-life decisions and to take steps such as having the conversation with health care providers and loved ones, completing advanced care planning documents, and determining how they would like to be memorialized and celebrated at the end of life.

A few months ago, Hospice Services of Lake County’s medical director came to me with an idea for a postcard that people could take to their doctors to let them know they would like hospice care in the event of conditions that would likely result in death within six months.

The “My Life, My Way” postcard was developed along with a business card carrying the same message.

The cards have been circulated and handed out at events for the past few months. They are available from Hospice Services of Lake County.

Working in hospice, I have seen the struggles that family, friends and others have when making the important decisions at the end of life for their loved ones. Hospice works with them to get the arrangements made.

However, think of how much more of that final time can be spent with loved ones. Instead of running around making funeral arrangements, we can spend time together reminiscing about the good times we shared. We can spend time mending fences with others. We can concentrate on making sure we are ending our lives our way.

So I ask each of you to think about how you would like to spend your last days of life. Write it down. Make a plan. Share it with your loved ones. Help them know what you want done. It’s your life. Live it your way.

Consider, too, the better quality of life that comes with such planning and with the services provided by Hospice.

You and your loved ones deserve the type of care and compassion that comes from Hospice Services of Lake County’s dedicated staff: managed pain, caregiver support, personal attention, spiritual support, emotional support and much more.

For more information, contact Hospice Services of Lake County by calling 707-263-6222, or visit www.lakecountyhospice.org .

Cindy Sobel, RN, MS, is director of Patient Care Services for Hospice Services of Lake County, Calif.