I know its terrible, but once i lied and said my grandma was in a car accident so we had to go to a different city. They bought it and I got two days off. Give that a try.

Well people can only die once so make sure you write down who you said died...

Just talk to them and tell them you need some time off. Do you really think you're the first one to tell them what ever BS story you will tell them? They often times see right through it weather you think they do or not. It makes you look a lot better when you say look, I know it's short notice but I have some personal issues going on and I won't be able to come in to work on X day.

If someone told me that a family member got admitted to the hospital I'd ask them if they were a doctor. If the answer is no, what the hell are you going to do for them? See you at work. Heartless attitude I know but sometimes you have to be a realist. I got a call from my dad saying his knee collapsed while he was in NY and got rushed to the hospital. My boss asked if I wanted to leave early and redirect my flight to NY. I said I'm not a doctor so there's nothing I can do for him. Probably 9 out of 10 people aren't a heartless SOB like me but there's a few people that think like me, just make sure your boss isn't one of them if you say a family member got in a wreck or something lol.