A Family Emergency
A family emergency is an unexpected event that affects the health and safety of a family member. These can include your parents, your spouse, or your children. These events are usually serious and require instant attention. Otherwise, the family member could have fatal complications that may lead to serious injury or loss of life. Since emergencies are unexpected, it is important to plan for them beforehand. There are several types of family emergencies, and all are dealt with differently.
Some common family emergencies include:
Accidents in the house include tripping on something and falling, cutting yourself while chopping wood or vegetables, burning yourself while cooking, or being electrocuted when dealing with electric devices. All these could be emergencies depending on the intensity and extent of injury. You would definitely need time off from work if your child swallows a toy while playing.
An example of a common family emergency that occurs outside the house is road accidents. According to WHO, car accidents are the biggest killers of children and young adults. Around 1.35 million people died in car accidents around the world in 2016 alone. You or a family member could be victims of a road accident. It does not have to be your fault. It could be a drunk driver, or a cyclist suddenly appearing from nowhere, a teenager texting as they cross the road, or someone running a red light. Causes of car accidents seem to be endless.
Despite safety efforts made by the government to develop safer infrastructure (such as creating cycling lanes, passing legislation on speeding, enforcing strict rules on fastening seat belts, etc.), accidents still happen.
If a member of the family becomes seriously ill, it becomes a family emergency. Anybody can have an immediate health issue that affects his or her body. You would definitely leave whatever you were doing to attend to a family member with the following issues: bleeding, breathing difficulties, epileptic seizure, heart attack or a stroke. If a child gets sick, you will have to stay home and be with them. It is more demanding when you have a child or a family member with special needs.
A family member with special needs may become agitated, or they may not be able to find a special device like an inhaler or other item that helps them cope with a certain health condition. This automatically becomes a family emergency. This is why most people with family members with special needs, either physical or cognitive, opt to stay home and take care of them.
Sometimes families lose their homes due to natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or tsunamis. Many families in the United States have lost their homes through natural calamities. When a natural disaster hits your area, you halt everything you were doing and start thinking of solutions to safeguard yourself, your loved ones and maybe your property. If you are not always available, it is important to have a family emergency kit already prepared for situations like this.
As unpleasant as this topic may be, we have to talk about it. Death is one of the most emotionally difficult family emergencies. A family member or even you can pass on due to reasons we have stated above, or other causes. Industrialized countries have come up with systems that measure death; they call them cause-of-death statistics. They record the number of people who die each year and the reasons why they died. This information is then used to come up with preventive or reduction measures.
For example, if a government finds out that many people die from heart issues, obesity or diabetes, they develop a strong interest and focus on that line. They vigorously address and campaign on lifestyle changes and proper diets for their people. They involve their health care systems in research to find proper medication to curb most of these issues. If they realize that child mortality rates are on the rise, they set aside resources and put up measures to help reduce child mortality.
It is necessary to have a family emergency plan ready. An emergency plan will help you protect your family in case of an emergency. The emergency plan is important in the following ways:
You are encouraged to have a family emergency card so that in case anything happens to you, your family can have all important details close at hand. The family emergency card is a jump drive that contains digital records and personal information. You might want to include the following in your emergency card:
The emergency kit should have the following: 
You can also stock pet food and supplies if you have a pet. Have a checklist stocked in with the emergency kit to ensure before you leave that everything in the list is available.
What do you do when a family emergency occurs? Above all else, you need to stay calm. Considering the circumstances, that may sound like a tall order but it is the most important first step. If you panic, other members of the family will panic too. Staying calm increases your chances and those of your family of getting out of a nasty ordeal without additional injuries.
Make sure you have a discussion with all your family members and agree on how they will take care of each other. Collect all your important documents like birth certificates and passports, and ensure they are safe and available when needed. Ensure you are aware of your rights. If you have a child, ensure you have their important information recorded. Inform the school of your situation, and give reasons why your child will be out of school. You may need to choose someone to take care of your child for you temporarily.
In case you are in college and you have an emergency, you need to do the following:
During an emergency, make sure you and your family members support each other and keep in touch. Help to take care of one another. Staying calm during an emergency is not an easy thing for most people. However, panicking can make things worse. Always have a well thought out plan to guide you during a family emergency.
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A Family Emergency
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