Traffic Collision, Essay Example

Death of a family member or friend is one of the most difficult situations a loved one has to face. The pain of knowing that a loved one is gone forever can be overwhelming and emotionally debilitating to say the least. Loved ones are often faced with many questions that consuming them for long periods of time after the incident. Many loved ones want to know if the deceased person really knew how much they cared about them or if it was something they could have done differently to prevent the tragedy. Nonetheless, the stress level of dealing with the death of a loved one or friend is often easier than dealing with a debilitating injury that transforms that loved one into a stranger. Often people who suffer from serious injuries become totally dependent upon others to take care of them. Mental and physical injuries can have a horrific effect on the caregivers of severely injured people. With a physical injury, the person may have difficulty doing simple tasks like bathing, using the bathroom, or dressing themselves, but they are aware of their shortcomings. However, when the person suffers from a mental illness brought on by a head trauma, day to day living can be totally different. When asked to complete this assignment, I pondered both scenarios, but decided to write about how my family and friends would be affected if I were severely injured because thinking of my family at the event of my death was just too difficult to fathom. My family and friends would be affected in many ways if I were severely injured and could not care for myself.

If I were severely injured my day to day life would change drastically. Each day I am awake by 6:30 in the morning. I work out for 30 minutes and then I shower. I make breakfast for myself and read the morning paper. By 7:45 I am on my way to work. The factory that I work at requires very strenuous use of my body. I carry heavy machinery, walk up and down stairs, and stand nearly all day long. I am the sole provider for my family. I have a wife and a three year old son. If I was unable to do any of this, life for my family would change drastically. I worry that my wife would not be able to make ends meet. Upon getting married, we discussed if my wife would work. We both decided that she would only if she wanted to. So, she did for the first four years of our marriage, but after our son was born she decided to stay home. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be if my wife would have to get me up, bath, and dress me each day. She would have to prepare my breakfast and probably feed me as well. My wife is a small woman and it would be very difficult for her to lift and turn me. All of this would be a big task for her to take on while trying to care for a three year old. I don’t know where our finances would come from because if she is taking care of me around the clock, she definitely could no work. If she did get a job to provide for the family, she would not be able to afford to pay for someone to sit with me all day. It is devastating to think that she would probably have to place me in a long term care facility in order for her and my son to survive financially. With me being out of the house, this would have a drastic effect on my son; he wouldn’t even know me. I spend a lot of time with my son because I grew up in a single parent home. It has been my intention to always be a father to my son. I allow him to help me with tasks around the house. He will hand me tools when I am working on things or just sit and watch in awe at how his daddy is able to fix anything. If I were removed from the home, I believe he would quickly forget me because of his age.

My mother would be emotionally unable to cope with me being seriously injured. My mother is a strong woman. She raised me completely by herself; as a result we are very close. My mother is nearly 70 and is suffering from several medical conditions. She has diabetes and suffered from a back injury years ago that has left her with some mobility issues. My mother would not want me in a care facility and tensions between my mother and my wife would be great. There would be even greater tensions if my wife had to place me in a facility a long way from our home, which is eminent because I live in a small town. There are limited resources for people suffering from severe injuries. My mother would definitely petition the courts for the rights to take care of me if my wife would have me placed in a facility. This would be extra strain on my mother, which I believe would cause my mother’s failing health to deteriorate even faster. My mother would literally kill herself taking care of me. I believe the first few days and weeks after my injury would be overwhelming for both my mother and wife. I don’t believe they would be able to come to an agreement as to what was best for me.

Because I am an only child, I have many friends. Growing up, I always had someone over for a sleep over. I believe my mother allowed it because she felt guilty for not having another child to be my playmate. I have several close friends who are just like sisters and brothers to me. I speak with them on a daily to weekly basis and we often see each other at least once a week. My wife is also friends with my friends too. We often have cook-outs or other family outings with their families. My closest friend has a child that is six days younger than my son, so we have a lot of play dates for the two of them. To me, I am an extension of their family and they are an extension of mine. We have bowling nights and play pool every other weekend at a local pub. My wife shares recipes with their wives and call them to vent when she get angry with me. Ironically, they side with her more often than they side with me. My friends would be devastated if I were seriously injured because they are just like an extended family for me. I believe that they too would have objections to my wife placing me in a facility. I know that my male friends would step up and be a father for my son by spending time and doing activities with him. I know that they would help my wife and mother in any way they could to assist with my day to day care. I also believe that they would be willing to help financially as well. As I thought about all of this, I realized just how loving and willing to help my friends and family are. I know that I would never be neglected or forgotten about due to my injury; however, I am concerned that they would take on too much of a burden to help me. Although early on, I felt that my death would be too difficult for them to endure, I now believe my death would be less emotionally and physically draining than a long term disability. Nonetheless, I believe that once they worked out who would do what and how often they each would do it, I think they would provide me with some excellent care.

Often in the fast paced life that we live, it is difficult to see just how important each life is. Most times we are consumed with our daily lives so much that we fail to live and just exist. This assignment really made me think about my life and the people I love. I have a more realistic outlook on my life now and I know that I would never want to become a burden for my family. Sadly, if I had to a choice I would choose just to die rather than become a daily burden for my family and friends. To many that may seem selfish, but to me it would be the selfless thing to do. My family would suffer for years if I were severely injured and required daily assistance. This would break their hearts daily having to see me in such a state. I would be depressed knowing that I could not do anything for them or that they could no longer depend upon me. As a result, I will now make sure we have a tragedy plan in place so my family and friends will know what I would want done if I were injured.