What kind of decisions?

• Things like what sort of treatment will be given (if any), where the treatment will happen, and when to stop treatment are all things that need to be discussed with the medical team and your family members.

• Other possible scenarios also need to be discussed with the medical team, like whether antibiotics should be taken if there's an infection, or whether there should be resuscitation if breathing stops.

• Deciding how these situations will be dealt with beforehand will make things easier when, and if, they do happen.

Remember: These are not easy things to discuss, but talking about them now can prevent decisions being made that are not what someone wants, or cause more stress for your family.

Who decides?

This depends on who is sick, how old they are and what your parents feel is right.

• In Australia, a person over the age of 16 has the right to make independent decisions about their medical treatment.

• If they are younger than that they might still be able to make those decisions, if their medical team believe they understand the consequences of those decisions.

What if it's too much to handle?

This will be a very difficult time for you and you may feel like:

• You have no control over the decisions that your parents make.

• Be really scared about what will happen.

Remember: Ask people to be honest with you about what is happening.

If you have an opinion about something or don't agree with a decision, let your family and medical team know.

The last thing you want is to have regrets down the track because you didn't say anything.