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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Paul Malley

Aired October 26, 2003 - 07:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The legal wrangling over the fate of a brain damaged woman in Florida is set to start up again this week. Legal briefs will be filed on behalf of Michael Schiavo, the husband of Terri Schiavo. He is hoping to reverse the Florida legislature's passing of the new Terri's Law.
Under the new law, Florida Governor Jeb Bush ordered the feeding tube reinserted into Terri Schiavo six days after doctors first removed it at Michael Schiavo's request.

The Florida right to die case has sparked an increased interest in living wills and the importance of putting your wishes in writing before it's too late. And joining this morning, from Tallahassee, Florida, to talk about it is Paul Malley, the president of Aging with Dignity.

Mr. Malley, thanks for being with us this morning. I was reading some of the information that was given to me here in speaking with you. And I understand that not only have people become more interested in what they want for themselves, but these questions and phone calls that have come to you have increased ten-fold?

PAUL MALLEY, AGING WITH DIGNITY: That's true. It's been amazing. Here at Aging with Dignity, which is a Florida-based non- profit group, we're received well over 3,000 phone calls and e-mails and Internet orders, all in the past 10 days.

People that are saying they've been watching the Schiavo case, and they see how heartbreaking it's been for her friends, for her family, for all those who care about her, and they are saying I don't want that to happen in my family. And they're looking for something to make that happen.

COLLINS: What is the main question that people have? I mean, obviously, I'm thinking about these cases that have really generated a lot of publicity. Karen Ann Quinlan and now Terri Schiavo. These people, very young, when the incident that happened to them happened, about 25, 26 years old. Are people that young supposed to be thinking about these issues?

MALLEY: They definitely should be thinking about those issues. But we know only about one in five Americans has filled out a living will. And even fewer of those folks who are young folks, who have filled out a living will. A lot of people think if I'm young, if I'm healthy, I don't need to think about these issues. And no case more than Terri Schiavo shows that it's so important, no matter how old you are, no matter if you're sick or healthy, that it's important to fill out a living will like the five wishes document.

COLLINS: And let's go ahead and talk about that five wishes document. I know this something that is a really interesting guide. You talk about it having a little bit more heart and soul than the actual living will.

Let's talk with -- let's take a look at it. And the very first idea people should go for is what?

MALLEY: The first idea that you want to go for is being very clear about what your wishes are. It's not enough just to fill out a form and check a box and say, yes, I want life support treatment or I don't want it. What five wishes allows you to do is specify what you mean by life support treatment and under which conditions you'd want it, and under those that you wouldn't want it.

And it also lets you name a person, it's called a health care agent, who would make decisions for you. Basically, that person would be your voice if you're not able to speak yourself because you're sick.

And then it goes on and asks some questions about personal and emotional and family issues that people say are so important to that. So it gives you a chance to write it all down on paper, and gives you a guide on how to talk about it with your family and with your doctor.

COLLINS: It's a very sensitive subject, obviously. We're looking at now the second step here. Determine how much life sustaining care you want to receive, which you touched on already.

But the third are these comfort levels, and talking about how you would want your pain managed. A lot of people don't know much about drugs or the different types of things that doctors can do to manage their care. How do we learn about that, to know what we would want?

MALLEY: Well, that's important. And it's a conversation that you can have with your doctor and with your family as well. I've seen couples that have talked about the first question there, that says would you want your pain managed, even if that means that you might be drowsy or sleep more than you would otherwise?

Some people say, you know, that they want their pain managed no matter what. They don't want to be in pain. Others say that it's important for them to be awake and able to communicate with their family, and that they're willing to do a trade-off there.

So it's a lot of personal preferences. And it's something that should be talked about, both with your doctor and with your family as well.

COLLINS: And more personal preference in the next one, the fourth wish here, talking about determining who will visit and how you would like people to treat you. What do you mean by that?

MALLEY: Well, in the who you would like to visit you, I talked to one woman and she said that her father was a general in the Army. And he always liked to have people around him. And when he was sick, she was going to bring in all of his friends.

But when she looked at his five wishes, he had written down that he only wanted to have three people there. He wanted to have his wife and his daughter and his granddaughter there. And she said that made total sense because he wanted the people who he loved the most, but I would have guessed wrong. I would have filled the room.

COLLINS: Right.

MALLEY: And it wouldn't have been what he wanted.

COLLINS: Right, obviously we're learning here now. This is such a huge comfort to the people who are trying to deal with a loved one's sickness.

MALLEY: It is.

COLLINS: And the last one, Mr. Malley, is what I want my loved ones to know, including how you want to be remembered. This is a very big one.

MALLEY: It is, it is. And people say, you know, this is where I get to write down my wishes in my own words. You know, to express my love and forgiveness to my family, to my friends, to let them know well how I how I want to be remembered. Usually, you know, before I got sick.

And there are people that even attach pages to this document, to really get the heart and soul of their specific wishes. It lets them do that.

COLLINS: Paul Malley, the president of Aging with Dignity. Some excellent information this morning that everyone should be thinking about. We appreciate your time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 26, 2003 - 07:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The legal wrangling over the fate of a brain damaged woman in Florida is set to start up again this week. Legal briefs will be filed on behalf of Michael Schiavo, the husband of Terri Schiavo. He is hoping to reverse the Florida legislature's passing of the new Terri's Law.
Under the new law, Florida Governor Jeb Bush ordered the feeding tube reinserted into Terri Schiavo six days after doctors first removed it at Michael Schiavo's request.

The Florida right to die case has sparked an increased interest in living wills and the importance of putting your wishes in writing before it's too late. And joining this morning, from Tallahassee, Florida, to talk about it is Paul Malley, the president of Aging with Dignity.

Mr. Malley, thanks for being with us this morning. I was reading some of the information that was given to me here in speaking with you. And I understand that not only have people become more interested in what they want for themselves, but these questions and phone calls that have come to you have increased ten-fold?

PAUL MALLEY, AGING WITH DIGNITY: That's true. It's been amazing. Here at Aging with Dignity, which is a Florida-based non- profit group, we're received well over 3,000 phone calls and e-mails and Internet orders, all in the past 10 days.

People that are saying they've been watching the Schiavo case, and they see how heartbreaking it's been for her friends, for her family, for all those who care about her, and they are saying I don't want that to happen in my family. And they're looking for something to make that happen.

COLLINS: What is the main question that people have? I mean, obviously, I'm thinking about these cases that have really generated a lot of publicity. Karen Ann Quinlan and now Terri Schiavo. These people, very young, when the incident that happened to them happened, about 25, 26 years old. Are people that young supposed to be thinking about these issues?

MALLEY: They definitely should be thinking about those issues. But we know only about one in five Americans has filled out a living will. And even fewer of those folks who are young folks, who have filled out a living will. A lot of people think if I'm young, if I'm healthy, I don't need to think about these issues. And no case more than Terri Schiavo shows that it's so important, no matter how old you are, no matter if you're sick or healthy, that it's important to fill out a living will like the five wishes document.

COLLINS: And let's go ahead and talk about that five wishes document. I know this something that is a really interesting guide. You talk about it having a little bit more heart and soul than the actual living will.

Let's talk with -- let's take a look at it. And the very first idea people should go for is what?

MALLEY: The first idea that you want to go for is being very clear about what your wishes are. It's not enough just to fill out a form and check a box and say, yes, I want life support treatment or I don't want it. What five wishes allows you to do is specify what you mean by life support treatment and under which conditions you'd want it, and under those that you wouldn't want it.

And it also lets you name a person, it's called a health care agent, who would make decisions for you. Basically, that person would be your voice if you're not able to speak yourself because you're sick.

And then it goes on and asks some questions about personal and emotional and family issues that people say are so important to that. So it gives you a chance to write it all down on paper, and gives you a guide on how to talk about it with your family and with your doctor.

COLLINS: It's a very sensitive subject, obviously. We're looking at now the second step here. Determine how much life sustaining care you want to receive, which you touched on already.

But the third are these comfort levels, and talking about how you would want your pain managed. A lot of people don't know much about drugs or the different types of things that doctors can do to manage their care. How do we learn about that, to know what we would want?

MALLEY: Well, that's important. And it's a conversation that you can have with your doctor and with your family as well. I've seen couples that have talked about the first question there, that says would you want your pain managed, even if that means that you might be drowsy or sleep more than you would otherwise?

Some people say, you know, that they want their pain managed no matter what. They don't want to be in pain. Others say that it's important for them to be awake and able to communicate with their family, and that they're willing to do a trade-off there.

So it's a lot of personal preferences. And it's something that should be talked about, both with your doctor and with your family as well.

COLLINS: And more personal preference in the next one, the fourth wish here, talking about determining who will visit and how you would like people to treat you. What do you mean by that?

MALLEY: Well, in the who you would like to visit you, I talked to one woman and she said that her father was a general in the Army. And he always liked to have people around him. And when he was sick, she was going to bring in all of his friends.

But when she looked at his five wishes, he had written down that he only wanted to have three people there. He wanted to have his wife and his daughter and his granddaughter there. And she said that made total sense because he wanted the people who he loved the most, but I would have guessed wrong. I would have filled the room.

COLLINS: Right.

MALLEY: And it wouldn't have been what he wanted.

COLLINS: Right, obviously we're learning here now. This is such a huge comfort to the people who are trying to deal with a loved one's sickness.

MALLEY: It is.

COLLINS: And the last one, Mr. Malley, is what I want my loved ones to know, including how you want to be remembered. This is a very big one.

MALLEY: It is, it is. And people say, you know, this is where I get to write down my wishes in my own words. You know, to express my love and forgiveness to my family, to my friends, to let them know well how I how I want to be remembered. Usually, you know, before I got sick.

And there are people that even attach pages to this document, to really get the heart and soul of their specific wishes. It lets them do that.

COLLINS: Paul Malley, the president of Aging with Dignity. Some excellent information this morning that everyone should be thinking about. We appreciate your time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com