What Would Happen If You Got Sick?
Posted on February 15, 2009 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Out Of The Box
A nasty virus, the stomach flu and strep are all going around my daughter’s school. And in the past week, it went around our house too.
I thought I was safe. It was almost a week into it, and I trailed a cloud of disinfectant wherever I went in the house. Then Thursday midnight came, and I lost 6 pounds in three hours. Serious dehydration.
It’s not the first time, and my husband and I both know what to do. But what if we didn’t have that experience? The first time it happened I almost ended up in the hospital. Would he have been able to assume the duties I perform?
No.
Enter my household notebook.
I have a notebook sitting on my kitchen counter, kind of a household user manual. Inside of it are things like emergency shut off instructions, where information is located, medical cards, phone numbers, and how to give the cat his medicine. It also includes a brief layout of things that get done every day like my daughter’s get-ready-for-school-routine.
It’s not just for when I’m out, either. When my husband had an appendectomy a few years ago, a friend (childless at the time) came over to care for my 1 year old daughter for an evening so I could be at the hospital. Thanks to that notebook, she was able to successfully get my daughter to bed. Well, except for the backwards diaper.
So I ask each of you to consider what would happen if you were suddenly incapacitated for a few days? Would your family be able to continue to function?
If you enjoyed this post, please buy me a cup of coffee!
Comments (5)
I’ve never thought to actually make a how-to notebook, what a fantastic idea. My wife is always saying that she doesn’t know how anything works around the house. It’s a bit scary at times to think what would happen in case something like this happens.
Your comment reminded that there is no reciprocal information from my husband. He handles the finances, and after a near-fatal accident in January ’08 I was left bewildered. Luckily, he made a full recovery. I’ve been asking for instructions since then. I need to renew that request.
This is a great idea. I’ve been working on something like this for my role at work – never thought of doing the same thing at home!
And I’ve never thought of doing something like this for work. Yet the knowledge of have of the “why’s” and “how’s” of the project I am working on have proved very useful to my team members. Thanks for the idea!
[...] talked about routines before (see What Would Happen If You Got Sick?). Routines are actually little more than formalized habits, written [...]