A week ago, I had an experience that reminded me just how quickly life can change — and how important it is to be prepared.

What I first thought was a minor bladder infection turned out to be something else entirely, with nearly identical symptom of lower abdominal cramping and urinary pressure and urgency, along with constipation and bloating. A couple of days later, I wrote to my OBGYN as I went to bed with a high fever. I wasn’t sure how I’d get to a doctor’s appointment but felt sure I needed antibiotics for a UTI. Around 6 am, I got up to go to the bathroom and was hit with sudden, extreme abdominal pain. While standing at the sink washing my hands, I broke in a sweat and apparently my blood pressure dropped. I fainted and fell backwards hitting my head on the tub. Confused and disoriented, I got up, saw blood and fainted again onto the tile floor as I tried to get back to my bedroom.  I was alone, in the dark, but thankfully managed to get to the phone to call an ambulance. It all happened so fast and felt completely out of the blue.

I lay in the ER hospital bed as the “biomedicine machine” sprang into action. I’ve never been more relieved to be safe and cared for as I was scanned, poked, and prodded in search of answers.

One by one, tests came back: the CT of my head showed no internal bleeding, the EKG cleared my heart, ultrasounds of vital organs looked fine, and the urinalysis showed no bacteria but high inflammation markers in the bloodwork. My blood pressure was low, my abdomen still hurt, and bruises were already forming as they stitched up my head.

By lunchtime, I was admitted for overnight observation. Thankfully, the medical team ordered a second CT scan that afternoon, this time of my abdomen and colon. Finally — an answer: diverticulitis, an infection in my colon. My mother had it years ago, but I thought it was an ‘older person’s problem. Apparently not.

As part of this post, I want to raise awareness that as we age, many of us have “diverticula” (pockets that grow in the colon). I’ve read a statistic that ~5% become infected.  This statistic seems low considering how many people I’ve now spoken to who personally have this or know someone who does.

As I lay in a hospital bed, receiving IV antibiotics and nursing my banged-up body and very painful head, I found myself reflecting on some very practical lessons — especially for anyone who lives alone, travels often, or hasn’t considered if they are prepared in the event of emergency.

6 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

Here are some simple but important reminders:

• Don’t leave your house key inside the lock. With European-style “key in, key out” locks, a key left inside blocks anyone from unlocking the door from outside. In an emergency, precious time could be lost if rescuers can’t get in or need to find something to break the door down. In US, a deadbolt lock could cause a similar situation. Yes, it keeps you safe in your home, but what happens in the event of emergency if you are unable to get to the door?
• Keep a key with a friend, neighbour, or in a lockbox. When I left in the ambulance, I deliberately left my front door unlocked so someone could get in to care for my dog. Once I was a bit less disoriented, I realized the neighbour who has a key was out of town. Thankfully, I also had a key in a lockbox outside which was a huge help to allow someone to get into my building and lock the door after collecting the dog and some of my things.
• Keep your phone charged and in the same spot. Emergencies never happen at convenient times. Knowing exactly where my phone was — and that it was fully charged — made all the difference when I needed to call for help and later coordinate care for my dog. Before this emergency, I didn’t consistently charge the phone at night and often woke up to ~20% charge. I work from home and simply put it on the charger in the morning. This habit has now changed! A well charged phone was critically important in this situation.
• Store emergency contacts in your phone. Most phones allow “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) contacts to be accessed even if locked. Set this up now!! It also allows you to list medications and important medical notes in case you can’t communicate. If you travel, add the local emergency number clearly in your contacts. In my disoriented state, I first called Poison Control, wasting precious minutes, because “144” or “112” (Switzerland’s equivalent to 911) wasn’t front of mind.
• Carry your insurance card and health information. A small card with your medications, allergies, and last vaccinations can help if you’re unable to speak or, like me, can’t recall your last tetanus shot. Some hospitals or doctor’s offices provide these wallet sized cards.
• File of Life. After my father’s heart issues, I was told to create a “File of Life” for my parents. In the U.S., emergency responders are trained to look for this on the refrigerator (especially in elderly people’s homes). It has emergency contacts, medication lists, allergies, doctors, insurance, DNR (Do not resuscitate), and medical power of attorney, etc. — all in one place.
• Are your affairs in order? As I lay on the floor, I was panicked that no one would find me for days and worried what would happen to my dog. Later, once I was safe, my thoughts shifted to how unorganized my affairs are. I’m now creating a document for my family with essentials: bank accounts, passcodes, mortgage, doctors, business details and how to keep my upcoming course running long after I’m gone.  Do you have a will? Do you know how the system works if you are an expat living in a foreign land? Do your bank accounts, pension fund, IRA, etc. have beneficiaries listed? (yes, I’m aware, first world problem if we’re privileged enough to have these!). If you are married, are both names on all accounts or a POD / TOD / JTWROS established so the money does not get frozen in probate?  Some of these lessons were learned earlier as I helped my aging parents prepare for the inevitable. I’ve also seen multiple friend’s parents get stuck in probate court after the death of a spouse, creating a real issue to pay bills.

These aren’t things we like to think about. But preparing ahead of time doesn’t mean living in fear — it means creating safety. And as I often share in my work, a felt sense of safety is medicine in itself.

We can’t predict or worry over the “what ifs,” but we can put simple measures in place.

Be mindful of the energy you bring to preparation. I’d recommend approaching it with the intention of supporting yourself, creating an ease of mind, knowing you’re prepared.

Gratitude & Perspective

This experience shook me deeply and reminded me how fragile life is and how quickly things can change.

It also reminded me how extraordinary the advancements in biomedicine are — and how critically important emergency workers, nurses, doctors, technicians, and all healthcare professionals are. A heartfelt thank you if you are among them! I was fortunate to have an incredible team whose skill, care, and concern I’ll always be grateful for — and I was especially thankful that most could speak with me in English.

Next up

I’ll share what it was like to feel my nervous system go into full fight-or-flight mode — and how I used mindbody tools like breathing, distraction, somatic tracking, and even my old migraine tricks to cope with pain and anxiety when emotions were running high.

For now, I hope these reminders serve as a gentle nudge to check your own “emergency readiness.” Because when life knocks us down — literally — having a few basics in place can help us feel safer, supported, and ready to heal.