PfOl11iSe$

Power of Attorney is a
promise that your wishes
will be respected and your
partner will have a say.

But that’s not always enough.
A cautionary tale. A   -

BY CYNTHIA Porrs

N about end—of—life issues,

  but we all have to do it
eventually With New Year’s Eve
around the corner, many. familes
resolve to get their household
papers in order.

You may already have every-
thing covered, with power of V
attorney [POA] forms and health
proxies on file for you and your
partner. But when push comes to

obody wants to think

‘ shove, how much do these

papers really count?

‘B In New York, not much,
according to Terry Checksfield.
She’d been with her partner,
Barbara Blake, for 27 years.

N “She was my wife; I talked to

her about everything, she talked
to me about everything.” But
when Barbara suffered a devas- ’
tating stroke, she wasn’t talking
to anyone — and the medical and

’ legal authorities weren’t talking

to Terry.

“On May 23rd, Barb was
with Brenda, her niece. They
were going to a party. That’s
when Barb had her stroke.”
There’s still anger in Terry’s
V.oice,more than a year later.

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“She had two cell phones, they
passed two fire stations, and

instead Brenda took her to her
cousin’s house. Got her out of

, the car, up the stairs, and only
- then called the ambulance.”

Barb was brought to
University Hospital in Syracuse.’
“That’s when the trouble really
started.” Terry explained. “I’d
shown up with a bag of medicine
— Barb suffered from diabetes
and back problems .’T Consent
forms for Barb’s care had been

— signed by Barb’s family mem-

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bers, rather than by Terry. “At
that point, my job was to get the
best care for Barbara. I wasn’t
thinking about who signed what
when.”

In New York, consent for care

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their lives.

forms need to be signed by a
spouse, relative, or legal
desi.gnee. Barb had in fact signed
a power of attorney and health

' care proxy form earlier that year,

desgiinating Terry to make deci-
sions for her. ‘

- Despite these existing docu-
ments, Terry alleges that Barb’s

 
   

THE MOUNTAINS 

 

I Terry Checksfleld and Barbara Blake at a happy moment In

“The family services worker

did apologize to me after,-” Terry
said. “She didn’t know I existed.
How would she know? The fam-

ily certainly wasn’tgoing to tell
her. '

99

attorney and health care proxy,

Terry is not mentioned in Barb’s
obituary. Custody of Barb’s body
went to her blood relations, who
buried her on private property.
Terry is not allowed to visit

Barb’s grave.

family took over the decision-
making process. She cites an

, after—care planning meeting with

the hospital ’s family services
‘ division that went on without her
knowledge or consent.

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they had Terry sign a new set of
paperwork and turned to her for
treatment decisions. A represen-
tative from the hospital would A

not discussthis case, citing con- ‘
fidentiality issues, but did say

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. After the University [Hospital
received copies of the power of

‘V;
‘A

that procedure dictated‘ honoring
the appropriate legal paperwork.

“That meant that everything
Rhonda [Barb’s daughter] had
signed was no good anymore,”

Terry ‘said. “Butthese are her

kids, I wanted them to be

involved.” The paperwork in .
question included a do-not— ft
recessitate order, literally a life-
or—death decision. _

“That’s when things got even

. worse,” Terry said. “They.
accused me of forging the
[power of attorney and health-
care proxy] papers, of manufac-
turing the signature.”

When asked about the cir-
cumstances surrounding Barb’s
death, Rhonda Blake replied,
“I’m surprised Terry wants to
talk about this story. It doesn’t
paint her in a very good light.”
She paused. “I’m not sure how
much I can really say, as there is
‘some litigation going on.”
Rhonda Blake said that she’d be
willing to talk more about the
story after consulting with her
family members, but subsequent
calls to the Blake home went
unanswered. Messages left with
other family members elicited no
response. '

According to Terry, Barb’s .
family members continued to '
sign consent forms for_Barb’s.
treatment. One of these consents
allowed a biopsy of a mass in
Barb’s left lung. On top of

i < everything else, she had cancer.

As Barb’s condition deterio-
rated, plans needed to be made,
for her care. Even-though Terry
had the power of attorney and
health care proxy in place, a
decision was made by hospital
staff to include all of Barb’s
family members in the discharge
planning. .

continued on p. 

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