‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood …’

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Marie Curie

My Life My Decision gives us the opportunity to record our treatment wishes in advance of a time when we may not be able to communicate them ourselves. This can relieve anxiety about our own situation in the future, and also give us peace of mind that our loved ones understand what we want and will not spend anxious times wondering if they did the right thing.

I think the Marie Curie quote that this blog opened with sums it up: if we understand and support each other’s decisions now, it stops us fearing the decisions that we may need to make in the future.

I feel very lucky to have met the people I have so far, and give them the support to start those conversations with loved ones and gain understanding of their choices as they can carry on living. At one to one meetings, or at group awareness sessions, I have met so many who are living with health issues, becoming older and yet still focusing on living .One lady, Mrs M, who I met during my first face to face home visit to help with an LPA, was so positive about her future even though she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She told me:

‘It’s a lot of fuss over something I hopefully will never need’

It feels so long, since I was writing my last Blog, sat by Coniston Lake, early in the morning, with lots of thoughts of the new programme. Now the project is underway, I am looking forward to its official launch on Wednesday 5th, getting to know volunteers Sue, Liz, Ged and Jim better and utilising their skills and commitment to move the project even further forward.