Planning for the unexpected.

With the COVID-19 crisis, we have been hit hard facing the uncertainty of what our world will look like when this is all over.

Planning for the unexpected is something many of us avoid, but with so much time on our hands pondering the “what ifs”, there really is no better time to consider what your world would look like if you were no longer there.

At Smart Legal, it is a sad fact that we see stories like this far too regularly.  Dealing with the pain of losing a loved one is one thing, but dealing with it while losing everything you have built together is something else.

Do yourself a favour and consider what really would happen if you were no longer around. What would it look like for your partner? For your children?  For your family?  It is easy to think you are invincible but as we can see here; there really is no such thing.

“We were invincible.  Colds and runny noses were a weekly occurrence in our house.  In fact, we were always wiping snotty noses.  I used to joke about being a human thermometer, I got so used to touching the kid’s forehead and seeing those glowing digits appear that I started to accurately predict the numbers.

My husband was fit, he was so fit.  He could run a marathon, ride crazy distances, he was strong and healthy. Nothing could touch us.  We were so ridiculously happy.

It was early May, it wasn’t even flu season, the kids were fine, just the odd clear runny nose.

My husband had woken saying that he had a sore throat, that he didn’t feel great.  He still got up and went about getting ready for the day.  No complaints, playing with the kids and getting them off to school.  That night he went to bed early.  I wasn’t worried.  He just needed some rest.

3 days later though his symptoms got worse.  I don’t even know what happened.  It was my day off and was surprised to see him drive into the drive way.  He hadn’t even called ahead.

I looked up and was shocked to see him so pale.  He said he didn’t feel well and as he spoke I could see him struggle ever so slightly to breath. I went to him to take his bag and as I touched his hand I could feel the heat.  I told him to lie down and rest, but he went to bed and stayed all afternoon and night.  He told me he was fine thinking he just had a bad flu.

I don’t know why I took him to the hospital the next day,  I don’t remember.  He wasn’t any worse but I just told him to get in the car and I drove.  I wasn’t worried though.  I remember looking at him and thinking he just needs some medication and we will be on our way home in no time.

When we got to the ED I don’t even know what happened.  We were taken in and put on a bed.  It was calm but I remember thinking there were a lot of people in the room.  A doctor explained my husband needed a tube to help him breath and that they would sedate him to keep him comfortable.

Time just disappeared, I don’t remember much. It’s all a blur.  I just remember listening to the doctors tell me they couldn’t do anything.  In the blink of an eye he had gone from standing in front of me to going into septic shock.  He died later that night, only 5 days after he had come down with the flu.

My world was shattered… and then it got worse because we didn’t have a will.”

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