Today I had the unfortunate experience of being in a car accident. Defintely not what I needed as I was beginning a day full of children's activities, work commitments and christmas plans. It is amazing how something that interrupts all that we thought was important can immediately put life into perspective for us.
The accident happened while I was sitting at a traffic light. The driver behind me thought the light was green (even though I was stopped) and hit me at approx 30 mph. I am so thankful that my children were not in the car & my Honda Odyssey did a decent job holding its own & protecting me to the best of its ability.
I ended up needed medical care and emergency services (fire, police & ambulance) were on the scene pretty quickly. When the police officer approached my side door to begin asking me the standard litany of emergency related questions (insurance, where you hurt, what are you allergic to, what is your name, address, height, weight, birthday etc.) I quickly told him that I had a "handbook with fish on it (my paper choice) in the glove compartment and it had everything he wanted to know about me in it."
I was in shock from my injuries and thanks to my "dork book" (like my sweet husband calls it) the EMT's & police officers were armed with all of my emergency contacts, my emergency room of choice, auto insurance information, medical insurance information, medical history & allergies and much more!
When I was placed into the ambulance I made sure the EMT had my handbook with him. (I didn't even think to ask him where my wallet was ... it ranked way down the food chain in importance to me at the time). I knew I was facing an entire day in the ER and that I would need help with my children for the rest of the day. My contacts & family information was critical (all was in my handbook) and my phone was lost at the scene of the accident.
When my husband met me at the hospital (thanks to my handbook) he had the ability to call all 3 schools, a list of babysitters to help with the kids, neighbors to walk the dog, & my insurance agent. When the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th nurses all had shift changes during my stay and needed to ask the same health questions over again, he directed them to my handbook so I could rest!
Needless to say, it was definitely not a fun afternoon, but all was so much easier with my information all in one place! (even the EMT wanted one :-))
Happy holidays!
