Sudden loss prompts book on sorting affairs
HEIDI Wyeth is no stranger to loneliness.
After losing her husband, Mel, to pancreatic cancer in 2017, Ms Wyeth said her life stopped: “All I could do was try to survive.”
Now, with the world to a greater or lesser extent in lockdown, she says that many people are facing up to life’s greatest unknown.
“While the elderly and chronically ill are immensely vulnerable, global statistics have shown us that no one is truly ‘safe’,” she said
“That’s a sobering reality. The sort of realisation that will, I hope, spur people on to take charge of their affairs, just in case the worst does happen, because none of us truly knows when our number is up, and the last thing we want to do is leave behind yet more challenges for our loved ones.”
Ms Wyeth’s insight comes from personal experience.
“My husband and I didn’t think ‘what if’ – it was something we’d deal with in later life. And suddenly it wasn’t,” she said.
“Suddenly it was something we had to deal with then and there. My husband wouldn’t have known where to find online login or bank account details, addresses, how bills were paid and so on. And now that he’s gone I need them to be accessible to the rest of our family in the event that something happens to me.”
It was that realisation that spurred Ms Wyeth to create the Just in Case book, a straightforward “what’s what and where” covering topics such as letters for loved ones, insurance details, and a digital footprint.
“In the midst of our fight against Mel’s cancer, and later as I adjusted to life after loss, it became clear that so many people overlook these basic details, because none of us expects today to be our last day, but it could be. And that’s not morbidity; it’s reality,” she said.
She said dealing with practical issues was critical for granting peace to the departing and security to the living.
“You owe it to yourself and to your loved ones to prioritise peace of mind – it leaves you free to get on with ticking off everything on your bucket list and making the most of life,” she said.
BECAUSE NONE OF US TRULY KNOW WHEN OUR NUMBER IS UP, AND THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS LEAVE BEHIND YET MORE CHALLENGES FOR OUR LOVED ONES.”
HEIDI WYETH