It almost feels as if no matter the time you’ve had to prepare for the passing of a loved one you’re never truly prepared. When the passing is brought on by an illness like my sister who knew she had cancer for 53 day before her death that gave us 53 days to take it in. In the case of my dad, he had been struggling for some time. No that didn’t make it any easier but somewhat prepared.
In my profession we sometimes see unexpected death and the turmoil it can bring a family. You can never fully relate to a person when they lose someone even if you have been through the same situation because of how each individual copes differently during a time of loss. Again, I mention my sister, Katrina; she died unexpectedly from a late diagnosis with advanced stage cancer; no one will feel the same pain that came from the loss of my father or my sister-we are all so different.
What is typically considered unexpected; deaths of this nature typically occur among a younger age of people such a children or young adults. It can take time for us, the surviving, with to regain composure and continue to “live” again, this can also take a great deal of support.
There are many occurrences in death that can be considered unexpected. Below is a list and statics involving the tragedies.
Suicide: there are approximately 94 suicides committed each day and an average of 34,000 suicides each year.
Automobile accidents: there are approximately 35,000 deaths that occur from automobile accidents ranging from alcohol related crash, lack of seatbelt, speed; this was statistics given from the year 2015. In the year 1975 there were about 10,000 more deaths from car crashes.
Drowning: The CDC released information for the years 2005-2014 showing there was an average of 3,536 unintentional drownings that occurred in the US. One in five people that drown are 14 years of age and younger.
Fires: in the year 2014 3,275 deaths resulted from fires. In 2014 there was 3, 428 reported death from fire with an average of 10.7% per million population.
Falling: 31,959 deaths resulted from unintentional falls in the years 2014, 42,032 deaths from consuming poisons substances occurred the same year.
Rare dieses: To be considered a rare disease the category must have less than 200,000 people affected by the disease and 30% of deaths occurring from the rare disease before the age of one.
Murder: In the state of Kentucky during the year 2015, murder occurs in 4.7% of the population per 100,000 people. Nationally in the same year there were roughly 16,000 murders; 71.5% of the deaths involved firearms.
Sudden natural causes: Heart disease claims the life of 610,000 lives each year, of that about half are people suffering from their first heart attack. It is the leading cause of death among men and women, however it affects men most. A young athlete is projected to succumb to sudden cardiac death, one in every three days.
On each grave monument…there are two dates etched, one being your birth and one being your death. Go out and make the most of what’s in between the dates and live life to your fullest. Make memories and leave the best legacy you can.
Always remember you are loved. You aren’t alone, there are people waiting and willing to help and try to ease your pain and lighten your load.
Until next time Life, taxes and…
Josh
