Step 2 of Life-Care Planning: Tools for Living Your Best Life
This might just be my favorite step of the life-care planning process. “Step 2: Tools for Living Your Best Life” is a segment that celebrates you or your elder loved one as an individual – embracing joy, purpose and fulfillment for A LIFE WORTH LIVING.
Here at Caregiver Support and Resources, LLC in Clearwater, FL, a simple binder has long guided my process for helping clients with life-care planning. By the end, that simple binder is anything but simple. It contains and organizes all of the important legal and financial documents, chronicles medical care needs, identifies key care partners, and so much more.
We first discussed “Step 1: Getting to Know Each Other.” This next step is about recognizing that a purposeful life with spiritual and emotional fulfillment are integral aspects of well-being. They’re critical pieces of a life well lived and thoroughly enjoyed for elder loved ones and care-partner team members alike.
Tools for Living Your Best Life are Key to a Strong Life-Care Plan
Whether you or your loved one are aging in good health or facing medical challenges, this step aims to preserve the essence of individuality – who you (or your loved one) are at the core. It fosters an environment where your passions, routines, and spiritual and emotional needs are honored.
In my life-care planning book, “Because I Love You: My Book About Me,” I’ve provided the space to answer these questions and consider how best to implement the Tools for Living Your Best Life. Whether you’re life-care planning for yourself or an elder loved one, the following are things we must consider and why they’re important.
Discovering Joy: Savoring Life’s Pleasures
Joy is a cornerstone of a well-rounded life-care plan. We engage in a joyful journey to explore your interests and passions. Whether it’s reading, playing golf, arts and crafts, or embracing new experiences, this step ensures that your life-care plan includes opportunities to savor life’s pleasures to the fullest.
Why It’s Important:
- Improves Quality of Life: Engaging in activities you love brings happiness and fulfillment, enhancing overall well-being.
- Promotes Mental Health: Joyful activities can reduce stress and anxiety, contributing to better emotional wellness.
- Strengthens Connections: Sharing interests with others fosters meaningful relationships and a sense of community.
Person-Focused Care: Honoring Your Unique Identity
Person-focused care, also known as person-centered care, is a philosophy that embodies compassion, dignity and respect for an older adult’s identity and autonomy. This approach ensures that care is tailored to individual needs and preferences, rather than “by the doctor’s orders.” Life-care planning IS NOT a one-size-fits-all model!
Why It’s Important:
- Respects Autonomy: Person-focused care honors personal choices and preferences, ensuring you or your elder loved one fully control care decisions. This also includes daily living and personal recreation.
- Enhances Dignity: By recognizing a person’s unique identity, this approach maintains dignity and self-worth. Essentially, living life ON YOUR OWN TERMS matters.
- Improves Outcomes: Tailored care plans often result in better health outcomes and greater satisfaction with care. Believe it or not, the concept of choice is medicine in itself.
Preserving Your Space: Balancing Medical Needs & Comfort
Medical realities and aging can sometimes encroach on personal spaces and routines. Preserving your personal space is crucial for maintaining a sense of normalcy and well-being.
Some older adults require oxygen machines or other medical equipment. Others need assistance from caregivers that may overshadow privacy. In this step, we plan to strike a balance where medical necessities do not impede familiarity and comfort – or to make more nurturing accommodations when possible.
Why It’s Important:
- Maintains Comfort: Ensuring the living environment remains familiar and comfortable promotes emotional well-being.
- Reduces Stress: Minimizing disruptions to daily routines helps reduce stress and anxiety.
- Supports Independence: Preserving your space allows you to maintain a level of independence and control over the environment.
Addressing Spiritual Needs: Nurturing the Vital Aspect of Your Being
Spiritual fulfillment is a vital aspect of your well-being. Even people who don’t practice a particular faith may live very spiritually enlightening lives. Whether it’s connecting with dementia-welcoming worship services, joining home-based faith groups or exploring online counseling opportunities, this step can nurture spiritual needs for all members of the care-partner team.
Why It’s Important:
- Supports Spiritual & Emotional Health: Spiritual practices can provide comfort, peace and a sense of purpose. Many people approaching end-of-life care have questions and uncertainty about “what lies beyond” this life. Some simply aim to leave this world as a good person, having given more than they’ve taken.
- Fosters Community: Engaging in spiritual activities can connect older adults and families with others who share similar beliefs and values. Community provides a sense of belonging.
- Enhances Resilience: Spiritual fulfillment can help you navigate the challenges of aging and illness with greater resilience. For some who are struggling, it’s helpful to know there’s a purpose or a “grand design” to it all.
Empowering Advocacy: Championing a Life Worth Living
Advocacy is a great tool for ensuring A LIFE WORTH LIVING. There’s power in helping others. Whether through participating in clinical trials, sharing the health care journey with others, or educating communities about living well with a particular diagnosis, this step connects older loved ones and care partners with the right networks to help.
Why It’s Important:
- Inspires Others: Sharing your story can inspire and support others facing similar challenges. Discussing daily trials and realities helps others to feel less alone and to navigate unfamiliar paths with confidence.
- Advances Research: Participating in clinical trials can contribute to medical advancements and better treatments.
- Educates Communities: Advocacy helps raise awareness and educate communities about the possibilities of living well while aging or experiencing terminal illnesses.
Planning for the Future: Practical Considerations
Practical considerations are also a key part of this critical life-care planning step. We explore the viability of Medicaid planning, VA aid and attendance planning, and asset protection to ensure a solid financial foundation for future care needs – and future generations. We’ve all heard of estate plans and wills, but there’s more to this step than meets the eye.
Why It’s Important:
- Ensures Financial Stability: Strategic financial planning helps cover the costs of care without breaking the bank.
- Maximizes Resources: Understanding and accessing available benefits can provide significant support for your care needs. Sometimes this requires a legal spenddown or distribution of existing assets to qualify for higher levels of care.
- Protects Assets: Proper planning safeguards an elder’s assets and ensures they are used effectively to support your care and provide for younger loved ones for years to come.
A Commitment to Your Wholeness: Life-Care Planning Tools for A LIFE WORTH LIVING
Step 2 of our life-care planning process is a commitment to wholeness for elder loved ones and families. It’s an invitation to express desires and needs fully for the best possible care in our Golden Years. At Caregiver Support and Resources, LLC, we strive to provide the right tools and life-enriching connections to support your journey.
Our guide provides space to answer questions and document relevant information, ensuring that the life-care plan truly reflects individuality, values and life aspirations. To begin your life-care planning journey in the Clearwater, FL area, feel free to contact me directly at maureen@caregiversupportandresources.com.
