2020! The year I turned the big 5-0, and jokingly commented, “The world is going to end.” …. All before I knew what was coming. Well, we all know what happened next...Now, it’s 2021, and we made it, thankfully. And I learned a few things – like there’s a lot of people who care in our community and you have to be prepared for the unexpected.
I was reminded of that again recently when Lilly had an accident at school. She had a cut under her chin that required stitches. The teacher was great and took care of her until I got there. But then I wasn’t sure where to go. What’s the ER protocol with the Corona Virus? Not to mention the fear of being exposed. It had been a while since I had to deal with an emergency like this. Yeah, I panicked a little.
But I took a deep breath and thought about my resources. A friend of mine is a physician in an ER. He told me where to go and calmed me down by detailing the safety measures. We got to the ER. New issue. I’m her Grandmother, not her parent. I can’t check her in or even go back with her to see the doctor. Wait! I’m prepared for this. She has a single dad, who travels for work. When she was born, we prepared a Medical Power of Attorney, so I could make health care decisions on her behalf.
Whew! That’s a relief, but I don’t exactly carry it around with me. Not to worry. In my practice, I stress that important documents should be uploaded to a private secure digital vault. It’s one of the tools we provide all of our clients. I could log into my app and show them the POA. Except…their Wi-Fi was down. Again, no problem. I simply called my office. My team was able to access my vault and send me the document.
I had what I needed in place, and I knew who my resources were. I was prepared. In the end, everything worked out. Lilly was fine, two stitches under the chin. She’s tough - tougher than me! But ask yourself, what would you have done? Have you planned ahead? Who is your trusted advisor?
Remember my doctor friend? He drove to the ER on his day off to make sure we were okay! That’s community. That’s planning for the ones we love. Yes, it’s helpful that I’m an advisor, but that’s because, unfortunately, I have to think of worst-case scenarios for my clients.
Often, the outcomes in these situations are quite different. You see, we all want to take care of our loved ones, but sadly many people just don’t get around to it. So please, surround yourself with people who really care. We need each other now more than ever.
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