A Phone Number on the Refrigerator
A paper page needs no battery and no password.
Picture a couple named Percy, 74, and Joyce, 72. They live in a small city abroad, and they speak a little of the local language. Joyce is better at it than Percy.
One afternoon their neighbor Nadine came to the door because she had heard a thump. Percy had slipped in the kitchen. He was awake and embarrassed, and he had hurt his wrist. Joyce was at the market.
Nadine called the number she knew. It was Joyce's mobile, and it rang in a basket at the market stall. She tried a second number and reached nobody. Nadine did not have a number for the doctor, and she did not know which hospital Percy preferred.
Everything turned out well. Percy's wrist healed. That evening he and Joyce sat down with a sheet of paper and made a page for the refrigerator.
The first person to read the page may be a neighbor, a taxi driver or a helper, so it lists the language each person speaks.
| Who | What they could do | Languages | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nadine, next door | Come within minutes, hold a key | Local language only | On the page |
| A local friend who has lived here for years | Speak to the hospital and translate | Local language and English | On the page |
| The doctor we already see | Know our medicines | Local language, some English | On the page |
| The hospital we would choose, and its emergency door | Where the taxi would go | Ask on arrival what is spoken | Address in writing |
| A family member in the United States | Be told within the day | English | On the page |
| Our lawyer | Papers, if needed | Ask which languages | On the page |
Joyce wrote the emergency number for the country at the top. She was not sure of it, so she asked Nadine and then checked it with the pharmacist.
Percy added one more thing. "Write the hospital's name in the local language and in English," he said. "A taxi driver has to read it."
They taped the page to the refrigerator. They gave a copy to Nadine and a photo to their son.
Joyce said, "I used to think of the refrigerator as the place for magnets."
You could…
-
Stand in your own kitchen, imagine a stranger arriving, and write the numbers that stranger would need.
-
Ask each person on the page whether they are willing to be listed, and in which language they would speak to a hospital.
-
Visit the hospital you would use, so the name and the door are not new to you.
Who is on your refrigerator, and in what language would they speak? Share it here. Someone reading may realize they are missing a name.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data.
Tell us in the comments