For years, doctors have been encouraging patients to plan ahead for the end of their lives. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans don’t always match the realities we face when our time grows short. People change their minds, values shift, and sometimes serious illness doesn’t look like what someone imagined. Despite the twists and turns of serious illness, there’s still tremendous value in honest conversation about our hopes, fears, and wishes in the setting of sickness.
I wrote/drew this piece last year for the LA Times and now that we’re out of the exclusivity period, I’m reposting it to my own website (for those who may have hit the paywall the first time around.)
Nathan A. Gray, MD (Piece originally written for the LA Times)
The Ink Vessel 