I will be discussing my own experiences of death and presenting information in regard to undertaking your own funeral arrangements and care for the deceased.I will draw this information from reading material and my own inquiry which is particularly relevent to Perth Western Australia.

Sunday

ADVANCED HEALTH DIRECTIVES (LIVING WILL)

I recently attended a workshop about Enduring Power Of Attorney, Orders for Administration and yet to be approved Enduring Power of Guardianship and Advanced Health Directives (Living Wills). They are currently trying to pass the Bill through the Western Australian State Government.Basically, a Living Will is a written request of any medical directives you wish to have made on your behalf if you are considered to not be able to make sound decisions for yourself. For example if you want to choose not to be resuscitated in certain situations. A Living Will can also encompass lifestyle decisions and presumably you would be able to leave clear instructions on how you would like your funeral conducted.Until this Act is passed though what one can do is discuss your wishes with family, write it all down clearly, get your GP to sign it to say that you were of sound mind when writing your wishes and consider someone to be an Enduring Power of Attorney for you. If you elect someone for this role, discuss your wishes with him or her so that they know what you want. If you want to have something that is very specific and complex it would be advised to seek Legal advice and have a Solicitor write up a Living Will for you, keeping in mind the expense involved.For more information I would recommend attending a workshop that is offered by the Fremantle Community Legal Service. They also offer workshops on Wills.
For more information about Power of Attorney and Wills check out the Department of Justice website. www.justice.wa.gov.au

CEREMONIES

I recently attended friends Memorial Service. My friend had struggled with Breast Cancer for over 3 years and graciously and courageously faced death. The Memorial Service was written and created by her before she died. It was so beautiful. She had a partner and two young daughters and the service was designed for them. It was held in a park and a friend conducted the service, we honored and remembered her. There was a photo board full of photos. We were asked to write a blessing for her, which was then attached to a balloon and released. We were also asked to write positive statements for her children which were placed on a wishing tree and which would then be given to each of her girls for their memory boxes. There was no coffin as she had chosen to have an unaccompanied cremation. The Memorial Service was then followed by a Wake.It was truly a celebration of her life and we were all given a postcard with a collage of photos of her to take home for our own Memory boxes.I wanted to share this story as it highlights some simple things that we can do to create a beautiful Ceremony. It was a very child friendly service and inclusive of the children which was wonderful.I wasn’t sure what to do as a gift for the family so my daughter and I made little gift bags for the two girls with little worry dolls, candles, tea light lanterns, a rose quartz gemstone and a beautiful angel to place somewhere special.