My mobile phone, my rescuing buddy

All smartly suited up and a couple of back-to-back meetings to drive to from one end of the Valley to another, I cruised sedately into the compound of the first meeting place when an urgent call threw my day into immediate, chaotic disarray! Aaaargh! My mother’s condition had worsened since morning, and she needed emergency care. My mind sped furiously into overdrive, prioritizing, deleting, scenario-planning and whatever my powerhouse does in its craaaazy inimitable way.

Swinging away from the parking lots and out back onto the main road, I made my first call to explain that meeting number 1 had to be postponed, with my apologies, due to this emergency. Yes, yes of course, I have a headset that allows me to drive as safely as if I were carrying on a conversation with a passenger in my car – my favorite mentor had shown me how to get the most out of Time and get business done on the go ha ha! Actually, he’s been great for my business deliverables but I confess I’ve sometimes compromised my previous standards of etiquette in favor of the timely efficiency of mobility, naughty me.

Now, which route should I choose to take, to get there in the shortest time? Tick, tick, tick, ticking away, my powerhouse kept up its mental computations for deriving what my next steps ought to be. Aha! A traffic jam up ahead with vehicles patiently craaaawling their way forward inch by inch – what a perfect opportunity to text some urgent messages to colleagues explaining the situation, and apologetically alerting them of my impending absence. But suddenly ……… screeeeech! Thump, thump, thump pounded my heart! WHERE did that rear bumper appear from????? Phew! I’d managed to come to a halt literally 2 inches away. No no NO! NOT good to text while moving even slowly – slap on the wrist – I should have known better anyway. What WAS I thinking!!!!!

By the time we were in the Acute Recovery Area (ARA), my business appointments had been re-arranged, due to the cooperation of my supportive colleagues (thanks guys) and my E71. All my commitments had now been properly delegated, and I could focus on the more mmediate family matters. Mum’s occupation of the Resuscitation Room took a good deal longer than in the ARA – hmmmmm how might I make good use of my loafing around the glass doors whose sensors authoritatively opened and shut firmly separating me from those needing medical attention? Tick, tick, tick why not keep those who need to know updated as events unfold? Sometimes in the dubious comfort of a vacant chair, at others leaning against the wall, I sent numbered updates of what was happening to family and close friends in the Valley as well as those spanning the globe. Did I mention how alien I felt lounging around an Emergency area for hours on end in my corporate gear? No, coordinated accessories are NOT what one normally wears when attending to the ill and distressed. I looked sooooooo inappropriate.

But I digress ….. the waiting time was spent incredibly fruitfully, tapping into family journalism at its best by producing mini mobile newsletters each time there was news to share. I duly numbered them too so that they would make chronological sense to the recipients. Hey! Don’t’ laugh?! The progress reports helped Sibling to decide whether he should take the next flight out or not. The text messages to Europe waited respectfully to be sent till that continent awoke while those in my time zone got the updates immediately This would never have been possible in the days of fixed lines and payphones eh?

And here’s the sweetest sentimental exchange: Mum’s sibling was concerned about the whole palaver, so, while Mum was lying in bed and her sister was in another country, E71 allowed them to exchange their feelings and allay their fears, enabling 2 older ladies to feel more assured than if they hadn’t spoken to each other. Have I told you I love you, E71? Yes, I do – even though you sometimes pout and change things you’re not supposed to; but maybe your upgrade won’t do that?