This past weekend my father was in an accident on his motorcycle. He ended up with several broken ribs and a pretty bad head wound. When the paramedics arrived, his phone screen was smashed and he was not coherent enough to give them any phone numbers for my mother or any other family members. Once at the hospital, he tried to remember numbers, but was mixing up all of the extensions. As a result, it took several hours for my mother to be contacted.
He is doing much better after a few days, and will hopefully get to go home soon. However, his accident made us all realize just how much we rely on our cell phones. The days of remembering everyone’s numbers by heart are long gone, as most of us just look up that person’s name in our phone when we want to call them. Would a paramedic or police officer know who to call if you couldn’t tell them? That’s a scary thought, huh?
In the event of an emergency, hospital and emergency response staff may need information that you are unable to give them. An emergency contact card provides them with your name, age, blood type, medications, pre-existing conditions, and allergies, as well as multiple contact numbers for family and friends. I have attached a template below that I urge to you download and fill out as soon as possible. There is a front and back, so you’ll need to cut them out and have them laminated (or do it yourself with shipping tape). It’s a good idea to keep one in your wallet, as well as your glovebox. If possible, print it in color, because the bold red font will be easy to see.
Hopefully you will never have a need to use your cards, but it’s better to be prepared just in case. Do you have a plan in place in case of a medical emergency?
