Make your wishes known

Regardless of where you stand on the tragedy that Terri Schiavo's life has become, there is a central message that everyone can agree on — make your wishes clear.

Whether you support her parents, who are pleading to have their brain-damaged daughter's feeding tube re-inserted or her husband, who said his wife had said she never wanted to be kept alive artificially — the drama being played out in Florida could have been avoided if Schiavo had had a living will.

It's a mistake most of us make — we don't let our loved ones know what we would want if a tragedy were to occur and we don't put it in writing. According to a story on MSNBC.com, 85 percent of us haven't made our wishes clear on what we would want to happen if something were to happen to us.

Maybe it's because we don't like to think that anything bad will happen to us, that it always happens to someone else. Maybe it's because we can't find time in our busy schedule and figure that we'll get to it tomorrow, after all nothing bad will happen on the way home tonight, right?

Nationwide, an increasing number of people are putting in writing what they would want if something bad were to happen. And officials say that number has increased even more since the Schiavo case has made headlines.

Living wills are written in non-legal terms and, depending on the state in which you live, the paperwork can be filled out within minutes, according to the MSNBC.com story.

Details are critical and it's important to let your family and your doctor know your wishes and give them a copy of the document.

I wouldn't want to have a machine keep me alive, but not living. It's a personal choice and that's mine — there is no right, or wrong answer.

I'd rather that any organs that can be used go to help those needing transplants — but that's a topic for a different day.

Caroline Lobsinger is managing editor of the Daily Bee.