Question 19:  Which definition of death should apply to you?

     The line between life and death used to be obvious:
When one's heart stopped pumping and one's lungs stopped breathing,
one was dead—permanently and irreversibly dead.

     But then cardio-pulmonary resuscitation was invented,
which can sometimes restart your heart and lungs if they stop working.
After a few minutes, however, your brain suffers such severe damage
from lack of oxygen that you can never be the same person again.
Both Nancy Cruzan and Karen Ann Quinlan
were 'brought back from the dead' by such resuscitation,
only to 'live' several more years in persistent vegetative state.
And many courts were asked to help decide what to do with them
because they had left no clear instructions.
Both had their last moments of consciousness in their 20s.

     If, toward the end of your life, you are on life-supports,
the process of your dying might be prolonged for months or years.
So you need to think in advance about what you want done
if you are ever suspended somewhere between life and death.

     Legally your death must be declared by a physician,
but if you have given permission in advance
for your physician to use unconventional criteria
to pronounce you dead, then it will be easier
for the doctor to go beyond the ordinary medical practice of that day.

152    YOUR LAST YEAR: CREATING YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE FOR MEDICAL CARE