My Way Cards for Natural Dying, including a personalized Living Will
Dr. Stanley A. Terman is a board-certified psychiatrist. He received an AB from Brown University, a PhD from MIT, and an MD from the University of Iowa. He had been on the faculty of University of California, Irvine and now leads Caring Advocates, a non-profit organization he founded in 2000.Dr. Terman's life mission is to reduce the suffering of patients and families as they face a final transition. He actively presents workshops and seminars to general and professional audiences on Advance Care Planning. He works intensely with individuals and families to plan and to help fulfill their end-of-life treatment wishes.Dr. Terman is the author ofTheBEST WAYto Say Goodbye: A Legal Peaceful Choice at the End of Life(2007),Lethal Choice(2008) (a medical thriller), andPeaceful Transitions: Stories of Success and Compassion; Plan Now, Die Later--Ironclad Strategy(2011).Peaceful Transitionscombines two books that are also available separately, in print and as e-books. Dr. Terman is also the co-developer of a form that physically combines an Advance Directive with a set of Physician's Orders that is the cornerstone of an effective strategy to help assure others will honor yourKnown Wishesafter you no longer can speak for yourself.Dr. Terman devoted nearly a decade to designing a new interactive toolMy Way Cardsto help people create a Living Will for Advanced Dementia as well as other terminal illnesses.Why will sortingMy Way Cards, which leads to theNatural Dying--Living Willbe effective? Because the Natural Dying Living Will hasspecificstatements that areclear and convincing; the cards can be sorted in a way that provides proof to help convince others that patients madediligentchoices when their minds wereemotionally stableand sound ( had capacity ). Also, the choices themselves can be shown to bestable over time. The effort can lead to physicians' understanding about what you want and why--so that they comply without conflict.The book,Peaceful Transitions: Plan Now, Die Later--Ironclad Strategy(2011), has additional strategies so that your proxy can avoid going to court, and your family can avoid conflict.Dr. Terman's goal for the sorting ofMy Way Cardsis to create Living Wills that will effectively and without conflict lead totimelyandpeaceful transitions. Timely means neither prolonged nor premature. Peaceful means as little physical and emotional suffering for the patient and emotional suffering for loved ones.