Hurricanes Irene and Katrina, terrorist attacks like 911, earthquakes and other disasters have us contemplating emergency preparedness. What items would you pack up to move out of harm's way? In the case of a sudden emergency, what items would you grab? Even if there is a fire in your home and you have a quick moment to grab one thing, what would it be?
If you wait to answer these questions when you need to, chances are you won't grab the right things and you will regret that you didn't think through these questions pre-need and not at-need. For people with diabetes, organ transplants or other chronic conditions, the question is critical and the first item is a given-medication, items 2-10 may vary.
On September 11, 2001, a good friend of mine was traveling from the Midwest to the West coast. He called from his layover in Minneapolis to tell me that the FAA was considering grounding all aircraft. He had been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. So as I listened to him complain about airport hotels and poor restaurant choices, my Type 1 brain immediately began to calculate what I would need. What concerned me was that since he had homes in both locations, he likely wasn't carrying several days of medication. I interrupted his complaining and asked, "How much medication do you have"? He answered, "Oh, I don't know." I asked him to pull it out and count how many days worth of medicine he had. I listened as he opened pill bottles and counted, and he was comfortable that he had at least a couple weeks of medication. Funny thing is that as he was counting pills, I was thinking of next steps if he didn't have enough medication. Time was critical because he would need to call his pharmacist (during business hours in another time zone) to transfer his prescriptions to a local pharmacy, in order to fill them.
Here's a quick list of items to consider:
Quick Evacuation
- Medication
- Medication
- Medication
- Critical / Portable equipment
Hours to Evacuate or Move to a limited space in the home
- Everything from the quick evacuation, plus
- Medical supplies such as glucose tabs, glucometer & supplies
- Durable medical equipment (dialysis supplies, heart monitors, etc., breathing machines)
- Physician and pharmacy phone numbers
- CASH
- Water
- Non perishable food
- Flashlight
- Battery operated radio
Some of these items can be stored in one location, so that only a few will need to be gathered in the case of an emergency. No one wants to imagine such disaster, but it is better to be prepared and not need it, than to need it and not be prepared.
Jacquie Lewis-Kemp
Author of Blessed Assurance: Success Despite the Odds
An inspirational story of LIVING life with diabetes rather than LIMITING life because of it.
Co-author of Victorious Living for Women
Co-author of My Sweet Life: Successful Women with Diabetes
Visit http://www.jlewiskemp.com for more information or to purchase books.
Follow me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/jacquie.lewiskemp
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacquie_Lewis_Kemp
