Rosemary, a wife and mother, has lived with a lung disease all her life.  She recently became so sick she needed a double lung transplant.  Unfortunately, she experienced a stroke during the operation. 

Rosemary regained consciousness 7 days later, but lost significant function in her left arm and leg.  A year later, she is still regaining strength.

While participating in Project Compassion's Finding Your Voice workshop for patients, Rosemary realized the risk she took by not discussing and documenting her healthcare wishes before her transplant. 

“There was a time when no one knew if I was going to wake up.  My husband would not have known what I wanted. I see now how difficult that could have been for hime and for all my family members.”

Rosemary now advocates for breaking down the barriers many patients encounter around advance care planning.  She stresses how important it is to learn about your choices and communicate your wishes.  

As Tiffany Christensen, Finding Your Voice director says: “Advance Care Planning is merely advocating for yourself in the future.” 

Click here to learn more about Finding Your Voice.