In Case of Emergency - Who's Gonna Call?

Designing Friends and Family Phone Trees

Image of a floating, white fabric “ghost” on a dirt path bordered by dried grasses with a cloudy blue sky in background. Photo by Drew Tilk on Unsplash

“How would I know if something happened to you?”

This question has been haunting me since a very dear friend gently, lovingly, posed it. She and I have had a standing, nearly weekly phone chat for years. Years and years. The thought that this dear friend might learn that something had happened by my “ghosting” on our phone call? That’s what’s been haunting me. The question doesn’t haunt me, but my lack of an answer does.

How would the people I care about know if something happened to me?

Yes, the question emerged in the context of my cancer adventure, but it would have been no less haunting before my diagnosis, but it hadn’t come up. The question masks an illusion that “something happening” is hypothetical. But, the question - for all of us beautiful mortals - is more accurately:

“How will the people I care about know when something happens to me?”

If this question - or the lack of an answer to it - is now also haunting you, join the next free, online, community playdate on Saturday, November 2 from 10-11am CST. (RSVP below!)

We’ll spend an hour designing friends and families phone trees so the people we care about will hear if something’s happened by a call or a text or a post rather than a ghosting. Come play - and invite a friend!