Aging Solo and Navigating Serious Illness — Louise’s Story
After watching a close friend struggle to navigate the healthcare system following a stroke, Louise begins thinking more seriously about what would happen if she faced a healthcare crisis of her own. Louise is a retired schoolteacher living independently in Calgary. She has a full and meaningful life — good friends, wonderful neighbours, former colleagues […]
How to Prepare Ahead for Changing Care Needs—Before a Crisis Happens in Your Family
A real family experience—and simple steps you can take to feel more prepared when care needs evolve. When someone you love is suddenly in the hospital, everything changes—fast.Decisions need to be made, emotions run high, and often… there’s no clear plan in place. We’ve been there. When a beloved family member was recently hospitalized, Plan […]
Comfort and Dignity: The Personal Side of Planning
When we think about planning ahead for a health crisis, our minds often jump straight to medical treatments—machines, medications, hospital care. But what if you needed ongoing support after an illness? In that case, the little details of daily life would shape your comfort, dignity, and quality of life. Thinking through these decisions ahead of […]
My Family’s Story: When a Routine Surgery Went Sideways
Written by Brandi Bailey, Plan Well Guide Navigator Not long ago, our family went through one of the toughest times we’ve ever faced when my husband had a serious health challenge. I want to share our story—along with some learnings from our experience—because it’s a powerful reminder of how being prepared can make all the […]
10 Qualities to Look for When Choosing a Financial Power of Attorney
Why Choosing the Right Financial Power of Attorney Matters When it comes to planning for the future, choosing the right person to handle your finances if you’re ever unable to do so is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. This person—legally known as your attorney under a Power of Attorney (POA)—will have access […]
What’s wrong with Advance Care Planning?
Recently, a palliative care colleague wrote an article that was entitled, “What’s wrong with advance care planning (ACP)?”[i] in one of the world’s most read medical journals (The Journal of American Medical Association). They note that ACP is grounded in the desire to improve the quality of one’s end of life experience by planning for one’s […]
Why we need to plan for serious illness, not end-of-life
We all need to start doing advance serious illness planning (not traditional advance care planning) right now. Like many Canadians, the world events of the past few years have forced me to reflect more on my health, the health of my family, and the health of the health care system. I see how the pandemic […]
What if I don’t have anyone to represent me?
Author – Dr. Daren Heyland, Critical Care Physician and Founder of Plan Well Guide One of the most frequent questions I am asked when I give public lectures on advance serious illness planning is, “What if I don’t have anyone to ask to represent me when I am seriously ill?” That’s a problem for which […]
Planning Perspectives: Thinking Ahead
The tagline for the Plan Well Guide website is: ‘to live well and to die well, you need to plan well’. As the creator of the Plan Well Guide website, let me tell you about why I chose that phrase and why it is so important to me personally. Begin with the End in Mind […]
How to Prevent Future Family Conflict
When a loved one is dying or experiencing a serious illness, family conflict can easily arise as decisions need to be made in an emotionally charged situation. How can we prevent future family conflict from happening? Much can be learned from those that have gone before you on the same path. When I am out […]