What will you do as a parent if you are ill or hospitalized and your child with special needs requires hands-on care and supervision?
The COVID-19 outbreak changed lives of people around the world in the last six months. The virus seems to be continuing its way across our country, greatly affecting southern and western states as summer temperatures rise. Just when many people thought it was safe to go back to "normal," COVID rates began skyrocketing and hospitals were reporting new admissions.
During these chaotic times, parents wonder what would happen if they contracted the SARS-Cov2 virus and required a lengthy quarantine - whether in their own home or in the hospital. When a non-COVID illness strikes, it's difficult enough to care for yourself and your special needs child; with something novel like COVID, people don't know how the disease will progress. This makes it frightening and uncertain.
"I am her person. I can’t imagine myself not being able to be there for her." This parent's sentiment echoes the sentiments of parents everywhere who care for special needs children. What would happen in the event of a parent facing this infection who must step aside for days on end and let someone else handle the plethora of round-the-clock tasks associated with the care of their son or daughter? Is there a solid, workable plan for how the child or teen would be cared for in the parent's absence?
If there are two parents in the household, maybe those tasks are a bit easier to accomplish when one parent is ill. But, often one parent is the "primary" caregiver who knows medication dosages by heart...who understands the reason for the meltdown without conducting an investigation...who reads "Green Eggs and Ham" in just the "right" way.
Will things run smoothly if the "primary" is sick? What's the plan if both parents come down with the virus? And it doesn't even have to be COVID; when flu season hits, sick parents + special needs child = STRESS.
What makes this coronavirus outbreak so serious is that the progression of symptoms is unpredictable. Life is unpredictable. The fact is, virus or no virus, there is simply no guarantee that special needs parents will live to 100 or beyond to be there for their soon-to-be adult-age child.
Do you have a plan to rely on if you become ill and someone else has to step in to provide care for your child? Now would be the time, if you don't. Life is uncertain, and without a plan, things could go wrong. Why not be proactive and take the time to formulate a plan - a way to make all the information related to your son or daughter's care immediately available without digging through file cabinets or searching your phone? Explaining things through a text or email won't suffice. You need more support than that.
You may be thinking it's not that hard to tell someone what to do...you may say to yourself even if I get sick, I'll be able to power through...but is it, and will you? If it's not COVID, then it's flu; not flu, then food poisoning, or a thousand other curveballs life will throw at you. Are you ready?
You need a plan. You need a place where you can safely and completely store virtually all the information related to your child's care so others can access it at the click of a button.
Stop worrying about what could happen if you or your significant other gets sick and there's no one to cover for you. Gain some peace of mind by clicking on the link below and starting your trial of Vest today. There's no better time.
Start with what you think is the most crucial information about your child. Get documents uploaded now that will address your child's urgent needs in the event you get sick. It is incredibly easy to share your child's Vest with others, and they will be ever so grateful that you did this.
What are you waiting for? Don't end up at the receiving end of a curveball without Vest there to protect you and your child.
