“i thought I had more time,” is what my mother said to my sister as she was laying on the hospital bed in St. Paul. I was en route from California. My sister, a nurse, had been asking my mom the hard questions. “What about a feeding tube? Or breathing tube?” she asked “No, that’s not necessary,” was my mother’s reply. “What if it means you get to hold on a little longer until Rachel gets here?” My sister pressed. “Oh, well, in that case…”
This was 14 months after I had been in the hospital for observation and then an early C-section for my first (and only) child at 42 years old. I had read through the provided advanced healthcare directive (AHD) packet. And man, those questions are hard. Soul-searching I wasn’t ready to do. Serious situations that I likely wouldn’t, but very well could possibly, face. I don’t know if my mom ever read an AHD packet. She must have been provided with one at some point, as she had been battling cancer on and off since 2017. She also worked with high-risk individuals. Maybe she just needed to ask if they had one and keep it on file if so.
To be legally binding, the Advanced Healthcare Directive must either be witnessed by 2 adults (one must not be related to you or benefitting from any of your estate) or notarized. When I went to hand my un-notarized AHD to the nurse, they declined to put it on file as it wasn’t complete. Had I been in a skilled nursing facility, one of the witnesses would have had to have been the ombudsman.
As a mobile notary, I can travel to where you need me, coordinate with the necessary individuals, and provide your family with the peace of mind of a plan for when things go sideways, or faster than exepcted.
Citrus Signings 