Go Wish

The object of this game is to consider the importance of your own end of life choices, and to help you voice those choices. Save and share these cards with your family and trusted friends. Consider a variety of scenarios, save them or print them. Compare your preferences with others. I liked the exercise of printing these out and sorting the pieces of paper, grouping different clumps on the table.
http://gowish.org/staticpages/index.php/thegame

Consider this: you may have very clear ideas of your personal priorities, but the usefulness of this exercise is to tell your health care proxy and decision makers, what those priorities are. if you know, but they don't, they cannot carry out your wishes. Whether you feel strongly that something is important or not, or even if you are undecided, that is valuable information for people you have designated to make your medical and care decisions for you, when you are not able yourself. The online version allows you to add your own comments, and put in a "wild card" - something not on the list but is important to you.

Finding a way to talk about this very difficult subject is far from easy.  But it is important to find a way.

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/10/01/life-conversation-dad

There’s a subject most of us say is extremely important: making sure our family is not burdened by difficult end-of-life decisions. 

A recent survey by the California Health Foundation found that 60 percent of people feel that way. But the survey also finds that 56 percent of people have not communicated end-of-life wishes.

It’s called “The Conversation Project” and it aims to get families and loved ones talking about the kind of care they want at the end of their lives. One of the tools of “The Conversation Project” is a starter kit of questions. Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR’s Commonhealth Blog, sat down with her 85-year-old dad Charlie Ritz, who felt it was an important conversation.