ILLINOIS Advance Directive Planning for Important Health Care ...

COMPLETING YOUR ILLINOIS POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE ANDILLINOIS LIVING WILL (continued)Should I add personal instructions to my Illinois Power of Attorney for HealthCare?One of the strongest reasons for naming an agent is to have someone who can respondflexibly as your medical situation changes and deal with situations that you did notforesee. If you add instructions to this document it may help your agent carry out yourwishes, but be careful that you do not unintentionally restrict your agent’s power to act inyour best interest. In any event, be sure to talk with your agent about your future medicalcare and describe what you consider to be an acceptable “quality of life.”What if I change my mind?You may revoke your Illinois power of attorney for health care or your Illinois living will atany time by:• obliterating, burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying or defacing your document,• signing and dating a written revocation, or directing another to do so for you, or• expressing your intent, orally or otherwise, to revoke the document in the presenceof a witness 18 years of age or older, who must sign and date a writtenconfirmation that you expressed your intent to revoke.Revocation of your living will is not effective until it is communicated to your attendingphysician.You also may amend your power of attorney for health care at any time by a writtenamendment signed and dated by you or another person acting at your direction.What else should I know?Page 7 of the Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney allows you to make thechoice to discontinue life-sustaining treatment in the event you are in a state of“permanent unconsciousness” or suffer from an “incurable or irreversible condition” or a“terminal condition” as defined by the Illinois Power of Attorney Act. The legal definitionsof these terms are below:"Permanent unconsciousness" means a condition that, to a high degree of medicalcertainty, (i) will last permanently, without improvement, (ii) in which thought, sensation,purposeful action, social interaction, and awareness of self and environment are absent,and (iii) for which initiating or continuing life-sustaining treatment, in light of the patient'smedical condition, provides only minimal medical benefit. For the purposes of thisdefinition, "medical benefit" means a chance to cure or reverse a condition.5