Death Preparedness Part 3

Photo credit Daniel Welsh @wel_shy

It used to be that there were fairly traditional choices for what happened to the body at the time of death. The family would call the local funeral home of choice, after death was pronounced officially, then they would pick out a casket, or choose cremation or above ground internment. Embalming was standard unless cremation was chosen. Then there was visitation or not. Funeral ceremony or memorial service. 

Now there are home funerals, green burial, aqua cremation, donating all or parts of your body to science, Recompose- human composting, floating ice urns, turning ashes into jewelry, becoming  part of a coral reef, becoming a tree, having  a tattoo created from your ashes and tattoo ink, having your ashes turned into a vinyl record or having your ashes put inside a stuffed animal.  And all are legal. So many choices! 

All the more reason to communicate your wishes with your family. My Mom had donated her brain to the Miller School of Medicine in Miami after participating in a brain health study for the last several years of her life. She communicated very clearly that we were to follow her wishes and call the University at the time of her death. She died on a Saturday night in Ft Myers, FL and there was no one available to harvest her brain. I was with her when she died and made sure her head was packed in ice. A local funeral home came to transport her body to Miami. It was all a bit weird, but what she wanted, and what I accomplished for her. 

So there you have it! Many choices now available. Follow links to learn more if interested!