Hasta La Ideas

For the second winter in a row, I have found myself with a cast on my leg. This time, I became cast-worthy after tripping on the hem of my jeans (I was wearing heel-length jeans with flats) and falling down a flight of stairs. I didn’t break anything, but my podiatrist said I tore the muscles off the bones in my foot and something else awful to do with my ankle. (I’m a little vague on the ankle stuff because I got a bit light-headed after he said I’d “tore the muscles” off my foot. Yuck. Just typing it makes me queasy.)

Thankfully, this whole cast situation is temporary, and my husband has been a rock star around the house taking over most of my chores and parenting responsibilities. My son also believes I’ve started transforming into a robot, which makes me the coolest mom in the world.

Winding up in a cast once again reminded me how important it is to be organized before you have an accident. I was lucky that all I did when I fell down the stairs was mess up my foot and ankle. I’m well aware I could have been injured much more severely, especially since I went down the stairs like a stuntman in an action scene in a movie.

Before you have an accident, be sure to:

• Carry your insurance card on you at all times.
• Wear a medical alert bracelet if you have any allergies or severe medical conditions.
• Have your doctor’s name and phone number stored in your cell phone or written on a sheet of paper in your wallet.
• Have a file in your filing cabinet with “In case of emergency” as its name and let your friends and family know about it. In this file, list the bills you pay every month and other important and relevant details someone else might need to know (contact information for your health insurance agent, your boss, your child’s teacher, etc.).

Life is unpredictable — I certainly wouldn’t have guessed I’d be in a cast twice in less than a year. What have you done to prepare for the unexpected? Share your advice in the comments.

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