Connecticut Advance Directive: Fill & Download for Free

I'm a bit of a nomad -- I was born in Brooklyn, raised in New Jersey, and in 2003, moved to Stamford, Connecticut when I was 19. I've since moved back to Manhattan.The day I moved into my new apartment in downtown Stamford, the Northeast Blackout happened. So, I went out and about to see my new neighbors, and everyone was friendly and open. But once the lights came back on, people "disappeared" and/or was unfriendly. I spent the next six months, roaming around Stamford to see where people had retreated to. Socially, it was probably the hardest time of my life.That said, who you encounter has a huge impact. It's a little awkward, but you'll run into two groups of people: people who want to be in Connecticut, and people don't. There's not much of a middle ground.Younger people (age range: teens to mid-20s) tend to favor leaving the state, while, everyone else appears to have dug in.(Personally, I've found conversations with Connecticut people in their mid-to-late 30s and 40s and 50s interesting. They will state they're slightly jealous that I live/lived in Manhattan, and wish they could have lived in Manhattan when they were younger, but no longer have a desire to. Some will even go as far to state that they would love to have a place in Manhattan, just to crash on the weekends but not to live full-time)The folks who love and/or grew up in Connecticut, can show you an amazing experience in terms of outdoor activities (parks, hiking trails, etc), whereas the others will have structured their life around getting out of state (knowing train schedules, interstate traffic patterns, NYC/Boston/Springfield events/dining/etc).Once I figured out the above and diversified my social interactions, it made my social life a lot easier.Connecticut is a beautiful place. During the fall, all of New England is a great place to be for the colors, and the quiet (in most areas) allows you to reflect or meditate without interruption. I highly value quiet, so this is a huge point for me. During my time in CT, I made *huge* leaps and bounds in terms of advancing my personal knowledge (due to lots of downtime AND being able to concentrate without interruption), which also advanced my career.It's also very pretty when it snows, but a few points:- when it starts to snow, it seems people tend to drive *faster* in an attempt to escape the inclement weather; this can be scary- when it snows, it snows a lot; so you'll need to be prepared to shovel, or invest in a snow blower- the temperature difference between SW Connecticut and Manhattan is such that it may snow a lot at your Connecticut residence but in Manhattan, it may be a little dusting -- so when you call out of work due to messy roads or train issues, be prepared to get a few quizzical responses from your New York co-workers.Connecticut is on the Long Island Sound, so most towns on the coast will have "beach" access. It's nice to relax at during summer evenings, and especially nice if you're into boating. I went from having never sailed in my life, to absolutely loving it in the summer time. There is no way I could have potentially anticipated that prior to moving.One thing about the beach access, most towns will require you to have a beach permit/pass. For residents, it's usually available for free or a nominal fee (as long as you're current on your motor vehicle taxes). The idea is there is a finite amount of parking, and the town would rather have their residents enjoy the beach (and its limited parking) instead of being crowded by people who are not paying taxes in said town.The state is split into two parts: Fairfield County and everywhere else. Generally, this comes up in discussions about income inequality (Fairfield County has one of the highest per capita incomes in the United States), state politics (Southwestern CT residents tend to be commuters that draw large salaries from NYC and feel they pay a disproportionate amounts of taxes than the rest of the state) and sports (you're either a New York Yankees fan or Boston Red Sox fan; or a New York Giants fan or New England Patriots fan).Gasoline prices are slightly higher, but that's a result of Connecticut not having highway tolls. Most states get their road funding via highway tolls, whereas Connecticut gets it via gasoline taxes.In terms of dining, it's not exactly like a major city that you can throw a rock in any direction and hit a highly rated restaurant. But that said, there is a lot of good food, if you're willing to look for it. I can only really attest to Fairfield County, but I've had amazing food in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, New Canaan, Ridgefield, and Westport.Some places I've discovered through friends, others through magazine reviews, and sometimes simply just driving by. I'm always open to new food in other parts of the state, specifically, I would love to visit New Haven more (around Yale University).I've had three different experiences with commuting in Connecticut:- I lived and worked in Stamford (5 minute drive from home to work, almost too short)- I worked from home in Norwalk (no commute, but you start to go stir-crazy from being in the house all day; you really need a social life to offset this)- I commuted daily between Norwalk and midtown Manhattan (sometimes by train: about 90 minutes door to door; sometimes by car: about 70 minutes door to door, unless traffic is really bad)The only thing I didn't enjoy about Connecticut and can't seem to really change, is that 95% of the time, you'll love it. But the other 5% of the time, you'll want to be in the city.I don't mind commuting for work, but when it comes to commuting for my social life, especially on the weekends, I couldn't really get used to it. I've tried the different methods, but no dice:- driving into the city,- taking the train,- taking a car serviceThat's what spurred me to move back to Manhattan in 2009.Thing is, you rarely remain in the same place in life. So as I've gotten older, I've started missing the qualities of Connecticut more and more. Lately, I've been taking one to two weekend trips each month up to Connecticut (visiting old friends, and checking out new places).Will I move back to Connecticut? Maybe.

This man, Sean Kernan. This man. I'm sure that this question was directed towards “generous” meaning monetarily generous. I see it differently.This man met Christopher Reeve in 1973. They made a pact. And both men were to die tragically young.“The year was 1973 and while 2000 students auditioned for just 20 spots in the freshman class at New York’s Julliard school for drama, [Robin] Williams and [Christopher] Reeve were the only two students to make it into the advanced program.They were roommates and often the only two students in class together. It was here they formed an inseparable bond. . .While there was no need for either to support each other financially, rumours have been bubbling away for years that Williams wrote a cheque for 1.5 million pounds ($2.7 million) to pay Reeve’s medical bills when the actor was paralysed after a horseriding accident in 1995.“Not true,” said both Reeve and Williams in 1996, however Williams admitted in 1999 that he did help out to some degree.“We bought Chris a van and a generator,” Williams told The Mirror in 1999. “It was really frightening because where Chris and his family live in Connecticut the winters are very harsh. One night the generator they had for Chris crapped out, so there was Chris’s wife Dana outside in the middle of the night trying to hand-crank the thing. Now Chris has his own income because of his book, his record and various other sources so he’s financially independent and pays his own bills.”However, Reeve told Barbara Walters that the greatest gift Williams ever gave him was the gift of laughter.The Superman star said a few days after his accident he was sitting in a hospital bed with his “dark thoughts” when a Russian doctor walked in.“I was hanging upside down, and I looked and saw a blue scrub hat and yellow gown and heard this Russian accent. There was Robin Williams being some insane Russian doctor,” he said. “I knew then: if I could laugh, I could live.”This man, Robin Williams, gave the gift of friendship. At the darkest time of Christopher Reeves' life Robin Williams gave him the gift of friendship. I can think of no greater gift.The truth behind an amazing friendship

It’s interesting to see how different the answers are in different countries.In the United States: If you believe that a family member is dead, but you are not sure, then call 911. The dispatcher will send the appropriate people based on what you tell them. Just tell the dispatcher as calmly as you can where you are and what is happening.Several generations ago, people had more personal experience of seeing death. Today, it’s not unheard of for a person to call 911 thinking that a family member is dead (when they’re not), or to call 911 for a family member who is “unresponsive” and turns out to be dead.Now . . . . let’s say the family member is dead. Speaking as a retired EMT (still certified, but no longer active) . . . . Depending on the circumstances and the number you choose to call, you can expect very different things to happen. So let’s talk about different scenarios.Scenario #1: The Expected Death in Home HospiceIf I had a choice about how I would die, I would choose to die at home, in home hospice care, after an illness that was not too long and not too painful.In the U.S., when you choose at-home hospice care for the final period of your life, you and your family can plan and prepare for your death. In the best case scenario, medical professionals will train your family to take care of you in the last days and hours of your life. Comfort care will include sitting with you and talking with or to you. It may also include bathing you, giving you chapstick for dry lips or sponging a dry mouth, and administering pain medication through an established IV by pushing a button. You won’t kill your loved one by an overdose of pain medication, as the medical hospice team will have calibrated the system so that you can’t do that.The medical team will give you some idea how much time is left, and will teach you how to recognize impending death and death itself.In that situation, when your family member dies, you will not call 911, or the police, or the ambulance. Rather, you will call the phone number that the hospice team has directed you to call. They will then send a medical person who is allowed to pronounce death. They may, for instance, send a nurse associated with the hospice team. That person will arrive soon, but not necessarily right away.In that circumstance, where death is expected and planned for, there is no emergency, and no need to call for emergency services. The police and medical examiner will not come to your home and they will not investigate the death, since it is expected. Rather, after confirming death, the hospice nurse will call the funeral home that you have chosen in advance, and they will come to get your body. Or, in my case, they will call the Coordinator of Anatomical Donations at the Yale School of Medicine, and Yale will send someone to get my body, thereby saving my family all the costs of cremation.Scenario #2: The Natural Death of an Old PersonLet us suppose that you have a family member who is elderly and has an established cardiac condition. You find them unconscious and believe them to be dead.Let us further suppose that you are in Connecticut and that you call 911. The dispatcher will ask you a series of questions, following their dispatch algorithm. Based on your responses, they will dispatch police and/or fire and/or ambulance. The dispatch code and speed will vary depending on what you say and what they believe to be happening. So, for instance, if you say, “My dad just collapsed, clutching his chest. He’s not breathing and I think he’s dead,” they will probably dispatch it as a 9-echo-1, meaning cardiac arrest/not breathing. A large team of emegency responders will show up in very short order and will do their best to resuscitate your father.Let me say that again. Under the State of Connecticut’s Statewide EMS Protocols, which you can find here, https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DPH/dph/ems/pdf/statewide_protocols/V20181ProtocolsFINALNOSEC2.pdf?la=en, “all clinically dead patients will receive all available resuscitative measures including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) unless contraindicated by one of the exceptions defined below. A clinically dead patient is defined as any unresponsive patient found without respirations and without a palpable carotid pulse.”EMS providers responding to such a scene MUST initiate resuscitation measures unless:There is a personal physician PRESENT AT THE SCENE who has an ongoing relationship with the patient, in which case that physician may decide if resuscitation is to be initiatedThere is a registered nurse from a home health care of hospice agency PRESENT AT THE SCENE who has an ongoing relationship with the patient, and who is operating under orders from the patient’s private physician, in which case that authorized nurse may decide if resuscitation is to be initiated.The patient has a valid DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) bracelet, per CGS 19a-580d, and it:Conforms to the state specifications for color and constructionIs intact - it has not been cut, broken, or shows signs of being repairedIs on the wrist or ankleDisplays the patient’s name and the physician’s nameThe patient has a traumatic injury of bodily condition clearly indicating biological death (irreversible brain death), limited to:Decapitation: the complete severing of the head from the remainder of the patient’s bodyDecomposition or putrefaction: the skin is bloated or ruptured, with or without soft tissue sloughed off.Transection of the torso: the body is completely cut across below the shoulders and above the hips through all major organs and vessels. The spinal column may or may not be severed.Incineration: 90% of body surface area 3 degree burn as exhibited by ash rather than clothing and complete absence of body hair with charred skin.Dependent lividity with rigor mortis (when clothing is removed there is a clear demarcation of pooled blood within the body, and the body is generally rigid), although this DOES NOT APPLY to victims of lightning strikes, drowning or hypothermia.Injuries incompatible with life (such as massive crush injury, complete exsanguination, severe displacement of brain matter)Pronouncement of death at the scene by a licensed Connecticut physician or authorized registered nurse.In short, if you call 911 in these circumstances, the responding people are required by law to start resuscitation unless there are very specific, legally defined circumstances releasing them from that obligation.You may wonder, if the responding team is obligated to start resuscitation, does that mean they have to keep on trying no matter what? No. In the case of a nontraumatic cardiac arrest, Medical Control (the hospital physician in charge of that EMS team) may allow them to terminate their resuscitative efforts if ALL seven of the following criteria have been met:The patient must be at least 18 years of age.The patient was in cardiac arrest at the time of arrival of advanced life support (paramedic)Advanced cardiac life support was administered for at least 20 minutesThere is no return of spontaneous pulse and no evidence of neurological functionThe patient is asystolic in two (2) leadsThere is no evidence or suspicion of any of the following: drug/toxin overdose, hypothermia, active internal bleeding, preceding traumaAll paramedic personnel involved in the patient’s care agree that discontinuation of the resuscitation is appropriate.If Medical Control authorizes the team to stop its resuscitation efforts, EMS will then turn the scene over to the police. The police will then take over the scene, because all deaths except for those in hospice care are considered suspicious until declared otherwise. Thus, if the patient died in their bedroom, no one will be allowed to enter the bedroom. The police will contact the State Medical Examiner’s office, who will decide whether or not they need to get involved. At that point, the scene is considered a crime scene unless and until the Medical Examiner’s Office decides that the death is natural and that they don’t need to be involved. In the case of an old person with a prior cardiac condition, they may make that decision quickly and over the phone.After the Medical Examiner has informed the police that they do not need to investigate, then the police will inform the family that they may call a funeral home to come and get the person’s body. Of course, the family may call the funeral home before that, but the funeral home will not send anyone until they know that the Medical Examiner and Police have released the body.Knowing all this, and how it plays out, I am glad that my parents have chosen to create legally binding “do not resuscitate” orders - orders that are legal in the states where they live. I have a Living Will and Advanced Directive saying what my wishes would be if I were unable to speak for myself, and have encouraged all the kids who are of majority age to create similar paperwork for themselves.What would I personally do if I found an older family member dead, with no evidence of any kind of trauma, and was CERTAIN (with my medical training) that they were dead? I would call their physician.Scenario #3: The Unexpected DeathCall 911.Scenario #4: You are not certain if the person is dead.Call 911.