When the time comes Frances Polack wants to make a swift and dignified exit - no hesitations, no encores.
At the age of 85, the former nurse is determined to have a last laugh in the face of defensive medical bureaucracy.
Mrs Polack has had her chest tattooed with the words "do not resuscitate", a phrase commonly attributed to hospital doctors and one which has given rise to controversy over the question of patients' rights and euthanasia.
Her body art is the visible expression of a lifetime's conviction. "Years ago when I was nursing I could see they resuscitated so many people who they shouldn't have," she tells the latest issue of the Nursing Standard magazine. "I don't want to die twice. By resuscitating me, they would be bringing me back from the dead only for me to have to go through it again.
"There is enormous pressure on doctors and paramedics, often from the relatives, to try to revive patients at any cost, even when the patient has made their wishes clear on hospital notes."
Mrs Polack, who lives in the New Forest, had carried around a living will in her handbag for many years but began to suspect that if she collapsed no one would bother to check it before they began resuscitating her.
Recently the government announced it was planning to put more than 700 easy access defibrillators in public places to revive those who suffered heart attacks.
"I went off with another grey-haired friend to a tattooist," Mrs Polack said. "It only hurt once or twice. Now I have a tattoo which declares 'do not resuscitate' and a heart design with a 'no go' sign through it in red and blue."
She added: "They were most professional considering they probably don't have old women coming into their shop to have their boobs tattooed every day. I did it because I believe it would protect me, protect my family if they were asked for consent, and protect any doctors involved."
Mrs Polack, originally from South Africa, said she had paid the tattooist £25. "I don't know if I want to start a fashion, but I hope I will start a debate."
