I love stories and the memories those stories hold in my heart. Some of those memories are great; some of those memories are hard to hold onto without feeling pain. Some of the stories make us laugh. Some make us cry. Some have made me realize that life can change in an instant. No matter the story, it is one that we learn from, teaches a lesson, and it is my hope that some of these lessons help you.
June is National Safety Month and each week the focus is on a different subject to keep you safe. This week happens to be safety in the home. As I was reading some statistics about slips, trips, and falls in the home, stories that are about to be shared with you surfaced in my memory.
My two children were young and wanted to “help” around the house with chores. My boys loved to dust when they were young so away they went spraying the Pledge over and over again and dusting away. They were happy, chores were getting done, and my own chores were getting done as well. I had gone down in the basement to do some laundry when the phone rang. It was the call that I was expecting and so I ran up the stairs to try to answer it. At the top of the stairs was a cabinet that my sons had gone to town on dusting. The Pledge they used was working on the cabinet, but it was also working on the floor. Needless to say, between my running and the Pledge on the floor, I went down with a thud. As my children hurried to make sure that I was all-right, my oldest, Michael, said in his sweet little voice, “Mommy, you always tell us not to run in the house, is this the reason why?” Honestly, I laughed and said “Yes”! The lesson here – No running in the house and start buying Pledge Wipes instead of spray. By the way, bruises lasted about three weeks, but nothing was broken.
This brings me to another memory. One Sunday afternoon, the whole family was home and we all were upstairs playing games and just having a great time together. There is something about having a husband with two sons and the need to wrestle. They all began to jump around, chasing one another, wrestling, and while doing so they got closer and closer to the stairs. Being a Mother that always wants to protect her children, I began the warnings. “You are getting too close to the stairs” , “You are going to get hurt”, “You are going to fall”. After the warnings with no responses, I learned that I just had to stop watching. It wasn’t too long before they were right next to the stairs and just as another jumping wrestling tactic was about to take place from Andrew, our youngest, he began to fall forward right next to the stairs. My husband quickly grabbed him to keep him from falling and in doing so, hit the wall so hard that it put a hole in it. The fact that they almost fell didn’t even phase our sons. They were all more worried about the hole in the wall. It was a perfect opportunity to share with them that the wall could have been their head. The hole in the wall wasn’t my concern. They all could have been seriously hurt and from then on, I couldn’t stop the wrestling, but thankfully, it was never done near the stairs. Lesson learned – don’t wrestle near the stairs.
Speaking of stairs, have you just put something on the stairs just thinking you would leave it there a little while? Left a pair of shoes, pair of slippers, or worse yet, toys that needed to be taken care of? Have you carried two loads of laundry instead of just one? Well, I have on more than one occasion and guess what? It has caused many falls. It goes to show you that lessons are still being taught even as an adult. Thankfully, the falls have never lead to serious injuries, but it certainly makes me think twice about doing something in a rush. Lesson learned – Leave the stairs clutter free and take several trips up and down to prevent a fall.
Do you have animals that rush to your side the second you come home? Do they go in and out of your feet to get your attention? Do they love to chase you around the house waiting for the ever so important treat you promised? Are they eager to get in on a rainy day and practically rip your arm off trying to get back inside? As much as we all love our pets, they can easily trip you up and unintentionally make you fall. On a cold winter day, my husband took our dog Jazz outside. Jazz has short hair so he gets cold very fast and he wanted in just as quickly as he wanted to go out. My husband ran along with him because he was just as eager to get back inside. The problem was the yard had ice and so it didn’t take but a second for my husband’s feet to come up right underneath him. Down he went! This fall lead to an emergency room visit with three broken ribs, not able to work for several days, and pain for weeks to come. OUCH!
As many times as lessons are taught to us, the fact remains that accidents will happen. Many are preventable and many will just happen without any warning. The older we get the more of a chance is that we will soon fall. In fact, one out of every three people over the age of 65 will fall at some time in their life. It is because of the lessons that were just spoken about that Balanced Care wanted to offer a product to protect us known simply as Accident Insurance.
Accident Insurance will pay a benefit for such things like a trip to the emergency room, broken bones, hospital confinement, and ambulance transfers because of the accident. It is a lump sum benefit paid directly to you to use as a way of providing a cushion to help cover medical expenses and living costs when you get hurt unexpectedly. Because accident insurance is supplemental, it works in addition to other insurance coverage you may have. You can use the policy on its own or to fill a gap left by your other coverage.
The lesson here is that life is full of surprises both good and bad. The majority of the time we breathe a sigh of relief when we revisit stories in our memories and thank God for a few bumps and bruises. But what about the 2, 650 disabling injuries that happen every hour during the course of the year? Accidents can wreak havoc on your savings if you’re not prepared. Unless your finances can survive an accidental injury, Accident Insurance may be the answer. Balanced Care is here to help keep your lessons to a minimum and give you Peace of Mind especially when needed the most.
Terri Trepanier is the Owner of Balanced Care and a licensed insurance broker in New Hampshire and Maine. Located in Rochester, NH, she specializes in helping individuals and businesses with their Health, Dental, Life, Disability, Long Term Care, Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, Accident, Critical Illness, and Cancer Plans. Terri knows the importance of insurance products and how they help individuals and families. She continually strives to give her clients the Peace Of Mind that each of us deserves.
Balanced Care – Providing Balance, Security, and Peace Of Mind