### Keyword Analysis:
- Core Components: "printable," "five wishes," "document," "pdf."
- Occasion: This is not a celebratory occasion. It is a profound act of advance care planning—preparing for end-of-life decisions. It's a moment of foresight, self-advocacy, and profound communication.
- Tone: The tone must be serious, empathetic, respectful, clear, and practical. It should be gentle and supportive while dealing with a legally and emotionally significant topic directly.
- Recipient: The primary audience is the individual creating the document for themselves. The secondary audience (the ultimate recipients of the message) are family members, friends, and healthcare professionals. The article should empower the creator while being mindful of those who will carry out their wishes.
### Invented Creative Categories:
Based on the five sections of the official Five Wishes document, I have created these more accessible and human-centered categories:
1. Choosing Your Voice: Wishes for Your Healthcare Agent
2. Guiding Your Care: Wishes for Medical Treatment
3. Defining Your Comfort: Wishes for Your Personal Environment
4. Expressing Your Dignity: Wishes for How You Want to Be Treated
5. Sharing Your Heart: Wishes for Your Loved Ones
Completing a Five Wishes document is one of the most thoughtful and loving things you can do for yourself and your family. While thinking about a time when you might not be able to speak for yourself can be challenging, this process is an empowering act of clarity. It's about ensuring your voice is heard, your dignity is respected, and your final chapter is written on your own terms. This document isn't just a legal form; it's a gift of peace of mind to those who will have to make difficult decisions on your behalf.
This guide is designed to help you navigate each of the five wishes, offering prompts and examples to help you articulate your deepest feelings and preferences. Think of these as starting points to inspire your own unique and personal statements.
Choosing Your Voice: Wishes for Your Healthcare Agent
This first wish is about appointing the person (your Healthcare Agent) you trust to make medical decisions for you if you cannot. This person becomes your voice, your advocate, and your champion.
- I choose [Name] to be my Healthcare Agent because I trust their judgment and know they will honor my wishes, even if it is difficult.
- My alternate choice for Healthcare Agent is [Name], should my primary agent be unable or unwilling to serve.
- I have discussed my wishes in this document with my agent, and they understand and agree to follow them.
- I want my agent to consult with my doctors but to have the final say in any decisions regarding my medical treatment.
- If my family members disagree with my agent, I want my agent’s decision to be the one that is followed.
- I authorize my agent to have full access to my medical records and to speak openly with my healthcare providers.
- I trust my agent to interpret my wishes as best they can if a situation arises that I have not specifically addressed in this document.
- Please support my agent in their role; this is a heavy burden, and I have chosen them because I love and trust them completely.
Guiding Your Care: Wishes for Medical Treatment
This is your living will. Here, you specify what kind of medical treatment you do or do not want. Be as clear as possible to guide your doctors and loved ones.
- If I have a terminal condition and my doctors believe I will not recover, I wish to be allowed to die naturally. I do not want life-support treatment.
- I want my medical team to do everything possible to prolong my life, regardless of my condition or chance of recovery.
- I do not wish to be on a breathing machine (ventilator) long-term if I have no reasonable hope of getting off it.
- If I am in a permanent coma or persistent vegetative state, I do not want to be kept alive by artificial means, including feeding tubes.
- Please use all available treatments to keep me alive, but stop if they are only prolonging the process of dying or causing me significant pain.
- I am willing to try short-term life support if my doctors believe there is a chance for a meaningful recovery.
- Please do not perform CPR if my heart or breathing stops and I have a terminal, irreversible illness.
- I want to receive food and water by mouth if it is safe and comfortable, but I do not want a feeding tube if I am permanently unable to swallow.
Defining Your Comfort: Wishes for Your Personal Environment
Comfort is more than just the absence of pain. This wish addresses how you want to be cared for on a personal level, focusing on your physical and emotional well-being.
- Please make sure I am not in pain. I want whatever pain medication is necessary to keep me comfortable, even if it makes me drowsy or sleeps.
- I wish to die in my own home if possible, rather than in a hospital.
- I would find comfort in having my favorite music ([e.g., Classical, Jazz, The Beatles]) playing softly in my room.
- Please make sure my lips are kept moist and my skin is cared for.
- I would like someone to hold my hand and speak to me, even if I don’t seem to be aware.
- If possible, I would love to have my pet [Pet's Name] visit me.
- Please open a window to let in the fresh air and sunlight when the weather is nice.
- I want my room to be kept quiet and peaceful, with only a few visitors at a time.
- Please read my favorite poems or scriptures to me.
Expressing Your Dignity: Wishes for How You Want to Be Treated
This section is about your personal and spiritual needs. It’s about how people interact with you, ensuring you are treated with respect and dignity until the very end.
- I wish to have pictures of my family and loved ones where I can see them.
- Please speak to me directly, even if you think I can’t hear or understand you. Please do not talk about me as if I am not there.
- I want to be clean and dressed in my own comfortable clothes or pajamas, not a hospital gown.
- I wish for my spiritual leader, [Name/Title], to be able to visit and pray with me.
- I want people to share happy memories with me and tell me they love me.
- Please respect my privacy and modesty when providing personal care.
- I do not wish to be alone as I am dying. Please have someone I love with me if possible.
- If anyone wants to ask my forgiveness, please tell them I grant it freely.
- I wish for people to remember me with laughter and stories, not just sadness.
Sharing Your Heart: Wishes for Your Loved Ones
This final wish is your chance to leave a personal message. It’s an opportunity to say goodbye, express your love, offer forgiveness, and share final thoughts with the people who matter most.
- To my family: I love you all more than words can say. Please do not be sad, but celebrate the life we shared. Live your own lives with joy and kindness.
- I forgive anyone who may have hurt me in my life, and I ask forgiveness from anyone I have hurt. I want to leave this world with a peaceful heart.
- To my children: I am so incredibly proud of the people you have become. Carry my love with you always.
- Please do not argue over my care or my belongings. Your love for each other is the most valuable thing I leave behind.
- Remember the good times we shared—the holidays, the vacations, the simple, everyday moments. That is my true legacy.
- I want you to know that I am not afraid. I am at peace with the life I have lived.
- Thank you for everything you have done for me. You have made my life beautiful.
- Please support one another after I am gone. Your bond is precious.
### A Final Thought
The examples above are here to guide you, but the most powerful Five Wishes document is the one that truly reflects *you*. Take your time, reflect on what truly matters, and write from the heart. Once completed, share copies with your Healthcare Agent, your family, and your doctor. Having this conversation now is a profound act of love that will echo long into the future.