A Conversation With Dad About Life's End

There's a subject most of us say is extremely important: making sure our family is not burdened by difficult end-of-life decisions.

A recent survey by the California Health Foundation found that 60 percent of people feel that way. But the survey also finds that 56 percent of people have not communicated end-of-life wishes.

A national initiative, recently launched by a group of media and medical professionals, encourages conversations about end of life care well in advance.

It's called "The Conversation Project" and it aims to get families and loved ones talking about the kind of care they want at the end of their lives. One of the tools of "The Conversation Project" is a starter kit of questions. Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR's Commonhealth Blog, sat down with her 85-year-old dad Charlie Ritz, who felt it was an important conversation.

“It’s important to me that you…if you have to help me in any way, that there’s no guilt involved, that my wishes are what’s involved here," Ritz said.

Goldberg said that though she hesitated at first, it was a relief to get the topic out in the open.

“I had worried about the responsibility of having to maybe take measures to make decisions that would mean the final end for him," she told WBUR's Radio Boston. "So this conversation clarified for me that a real priority for him was for me to not feel guilt, and that felt very freeing. That made me realize that I only need to do what really feels right for me while keeping his wishes in mind, so it actually lifted a load from me.”