We found out last night that two of our nephews will be moving to the area next month to attend a college about 10 miles away. Though they will be living on campus it just struck me now what we may well have to take them in. This would cut our preps in half, from 6 months to 3. Their parents think we are the family idiots about “this bird flu thing”, and so I know we can expect no financial help from them even though if/when it hits they will expect us to take the boys in. And of course we will. Another nephew just moved to the heart of Chicago to live and work and his sister is moving to Tampa FL for school this fall. I fear for both of them being in such large cities so far from family, though Vince could make it here from Chicago if he acted in time. Which would of course jump us to 5 people instead of the planned on two. I am going to have to rethink our whole storage area as well, 6 months supplies for two just fits nicely into the space we have. Making room for additional stuff will require major changes - not to mention the cost.
Had the same thing happen to me about 3 months ago. Have increased the supplies to account for the added mouths to feed, and got back up to 6 months.
On a lighter note. My upstairs AC unit just went out (will hit 100 today). All of the repair people are talking in the range of 5 to 7 thousand to replace.
Preps have to be put on hold until I get that done.
EOD -
Good luck with that. Many of us may be dealing with fluctuating numbers in that regard, myself included. I guess we just have to keep on preppin’ to the fullest extent our time, space, and funds will permit. I know that’s what I’m doing.
Top Ramen and water for the late preppers
EOD – at 12:24
Will she be going to USF, HCC, or University of Tampa? I could give you some tips for any or the areas.
Not only are your prep supplies consumed quicker, but you more than likely will be forced into a “prep police” role because you are dealing with people who are not onboard with your stategies and limits. Not a fun situation.
Hillbilly Bill brings up a good point, whew, will you have to padlock some supplies? These kids will need some work to do, too, to prevent boredom and make them part of the enterprise. Also showing them the quarantine tent in the yard, should they leave without permission, will make them face the reality.
My brother has a cabin on a lake nearby. If things develop slowly, some of his family (or all) could end up there. They are somewhat prepped, but not for more than 2 months. I am continuing to pile on the preps, and I guess I will quit when I run out of space. Regardless, I will have a strategic reserve for essential workers, if that scenario does not transpire.
EOD, it’s not entirely clear why you would have to take them in? There will be some warning. They can go home to their parents.
Calico – at 13:53 commented:
“EOD, it’s not entirely clear why you would have to take them in? There will be some warning. They can go home to their parents.”
WILL there be some warning? If a pandemic starts in the U.S. as it apparently did in 1918, maybe not.
And even if the pandemic starts somewhere else, and takes time to reach U.S. shores, what if they don’t heed the warning or assume “It’s over THERE, no reason to worry” until it suddenly shows up at their doorstep?
On the other hand, we prep so we can SIP. It may be that the nephews don’t accept the idea of sheltering in place, or will want to do it with their friends, or may simply - with the sense of invulnerability of youth - not see the problem and only head home or seek shelter when the university closes, if it does. It might be a good idea to probe the nephews’ ideas on what they intend to do if stuff hits the fan, and give them some idea of their possible options that might enable them to avoid something bad happening.
FW, I mean some warning prior to a ban on all interstate travel being imposed.
It isn’t up to the kids to figure out they are vulnerable. It’s up to their parents.
Calico – at 14:47 It isn’t up to the kids to figure out they are vulnerable. It’s up to their parents.
Calico, you assume a lot in making this statement. There are some parents who won’t identify the threat even when it’s on their own doorstep. Then there are others who dismiss the threat as baloney.
I have a beautiful 21 y.o. stepdaughter who will be in school in upstate NY about six hours from us. We have shared our plans with her and told her we will tell her when it is time to bail out of school.
However, her bio mom, with whom she maintains her primary residence, is paying zero attention to any of this and will, as has been the case for the 17 years I’ve been co-raising my stepdaughter, place enormous pressure on my stepdaughter to “perform” by staying put despite the risks.
EOD - your post made my stomach lurch. An important lesson to all of us that our SIP numbers may be vastly different than what we are planning for. I may well have to take in a friend and her two kids, possibly a cousin and her two kids. Not to mention my in-laws, who, while 3+ hours away by car, are quite elderly and vulnerable. As of right now I’m not even happy with the preps I have for my own immediate family, and even’t gone to the next steps of prepping for more. Yikes.
Edna, yes I realize the parents may not step up. As the pandemic develops, though, the situation will be much clearer to all and I believe there is also likely time for them to go back home. EOD still hasn’t explained why that isn’t a possibility.
One of the most impressionable accounts I read of Katrina was the LEO couple who had enough supplies for about a month, but were descended on by so many refugees that everything was gone in 2 or 3 days. We will either have to figure out how to say now or how to steer our loved ones in a safe enough direction. There is still time to work on the parents. At least I sure hope so.
Desert Dan – at 13:04 “Top Ramen and water for the late preppers” That’s where I’ll start with the least expensive basics in food. Water is not so big an issue; we have a bunch stored, even though hooked to city water we still have our own well (rust filled as it is) with a backup generator to run it, from that we go to filtered pool water and rain water collection, and if all else fails there is a spring nearby.
Kathy in FL – at 13:16 The Tampa Institute of Arts, she’s following in her uncle’s footsteps and attending Culinary school.
jane – at 13:28 Actually two years ago I built my wife a potting shed in our back yard. I built it with the idea in mind of using it for a quarantine area if ever needed. It has electricity, running water, a shelf and workbench that just happen to be the size of single beds (two vinyl coated mattresses hidden away in the attic), etc. My wife wondered at the time why I had built it so well, sturdy, and tight - I told her then that I just wanted it to last and not leak, etc. Now she sees the light :)
Calico – at 13:53 “EOD, it’s not entirely clear why you would have to take them in? There will be some warning. They can go home to their parents.” That’s just it I don’t know if there will be a warning, or how attentive people will be when that warning comes. Maybe the school itself won’t react in time for them to get home; maybe they won’t appreciate the gravity of the situation until the gov begins establishing travel restrictions or quarantines. As to why, they are family and they are young. Right now they don’t know or appreciate the danger and who knows what their parents have said about this in their presence. I can’t fault or condemn them because of their parents blindness. Again, there may be time for them to go home, they may realize that need and go, but then again they may not. Just like in all the rest of this the wisest thing for me is to prepare for the worst case.
FW – at 14:30 “It might be a good idea to probe the nephews’ ideas on what they intend to do if stuff hits the fan, and give them some idea of their possible options that might enable them to avoid something bad happening.” They will both be here tonight and staying with us till Saturday (attending football camp at the university). I’ll make sure they “see” some things, preps, etc and see if they ask questions and go from there. Either way, they are going to start getting educated to this.
EOD, perhaps you can segue from the current instability in the Middle East. If they can understand that we are very close to a major war breaking out, and how quickly that seemed to develop, they might be more receptive to the notion of prepping.
My wife and I have wrestled with this issue too - what to do with the knucklehead family members or close friends that are having a rough time financially right now. We are adding preps for them as we can but it won’t be like we put away for ourselves.
So here is my question; exactly how do you say no when they show up? I do not see a way to do it - with little Timmy crying, his knucklehead mother screaming ‘What do you mean, what do you mean? We’re FAMILY !@#’ and Dad dying of shame.
If you say NO NO NO, how do you get them off the porch? Where do they go? Specifically.
Seems to me, many of us will end up like the Louisiana LEO with 16 guests instead of the anticipated 2.
I know about educating them beforehand, but close family and friends will be tough to turn away. Yes, it will be easier with people we don’t know as well but I bet many of us will have a hard time closing the door until the house is really full.
Who has a solution to this?
I have been thinking about this scenario for months and I don’t have a solution.
Here is what my wife and I are thinking; panflu is going to result in suffering for everyone to one degree or another. Financial, medical, emotional, social - you name it. We can plan to minimize risk but we cannot avoid it. Many close family and friends will not plan and a few cannot. We are unwilling to live contrary to our moral compass, especially if this scene unfolds.
Some of us on this wiki are probably going to die of a panflu in spite of all our best efforts. We will be faced with suprises, problems we did not think of, in spite of our best efforts.
Few of us are so cold hearted that we will allow family and close friends to starve/die/be abused in a shelter to simply minimize our risk.
At outbreak, we will give them whatever provisions we have been able to put aside for them.
We think that if ‘destitute family’ show up at the earliest outbreak, we’ll take them in. If they show up later, they have to stay in the tent for ‘X’ days. That will be a real hardship in the summer or winter and will be communicated in a neutral manner before the outbreak ( kind of like; ‘here is what the experts say should be done…’). Tent people will probably be our friends that have run out of provisions or the ‘suprises’ we never expected. The tent rule hopefully will motivate some to finally prepare.
We will not accept social risks like our friends alcoholic, drug addict kids or complete strangers.
If in spite of this we get sick and some of us die, well OK, we died living our faith and charitably rather than hiding everything under a basket. We will have done all we could to protect our immediate family and live according to our moral compass at the same time.
We don’t want to hermetically SIP, survive, and be rightly accused afterwards of being unduly selfish and callous towards others in our lives.
These ideas are still evolving - it is not carved in stone and we are trying to refine it.
What holes do you see in it?
Interest thoughts. Are you being cold because you are giving yourself an opportunity to survive. I am a single woman, no children. What is my responsibility, if any? I haven’t brought life into this world. My mother is prepping, my father not interested. I don’t feel obligated to anyone and yet I find myself buying things with various people in mind…kind of like Christmas…oh so and so will need this. This is a unique time.
Is this the ultimate scenerio of being true to yourself?
NO NAME- I also am a single woman, no children- but I do count the cats. I have prepared for the cats and myself - and if they’ll come -my parents. I have discussed this with them - it’s let’s wait and see.
I share as much info as friends and family will tolerate. Only parents live near by- the rest are all so far away.
We are not being “cold” My mother always says “God helps those who help themselves”
DC, I agree with your mother.
For the first time I see something good about having to put my darling dog down last year. No pets either.
My mom is prepping, my father and his wife can’t grasp the circumstance…besides that their health is marginal and I am not sure they can survive without medicine, breathing machine…ect.
I thought the comment about the quarentine tent from a previous post had merit.
no name – at 17:34; I don’t think anyone is being cold simply by giving themselves an opportunity to survive, that’s what the wiki addresses but not this particular thread - entirely. The specific issue is what do you do with those within your ‘moral fence’ when panflu hits and they are not prepared properly? These people may be our adult children, in-laws, siblings, long-time friends etc. Whom you recognize is in your ‘moral fence’ is an exercise of free will.
The dilemma is, how do we meet or satisfy that charitable obligation many of us feel when our resources are finite, the risk to ourselves and significant others is compelling and communication problems seem so intractable?
Black-out the windows, don’t answer the door, don’t answer the phone (let them leave a message). Decide within your group (without looking at the pleading supplicants) what you are going to do. It is not only your life that you are deciding. You are also deciding whether there will be life for those under your care, children, etc.
You are not being selfish. You are being prudent in a very fluid situation of undetermined duration and severity with limited information.
We have had this discussion before here at fluwikie, and my opinion has not chnaged.
SO, If you are not super-serious about surviving and want to make a moral statement with meaning and purpose, I suggest you pitch in where you can on the outside. And just hope that your DNA and sanitary habits will get you and your loved ones through the pandemic. Luck trumps all in situations like these. What the Hell, shove all your money in and go for the “inside straight”.
Lots of previous discussions about this issue. We’ve decided that when necessary we will contact family, friends and neighbors to advise them that we are reaching “situation critical”. For everyone that will be different. We will advise them to prepare for themselves. We will advise them that coming to our home isn’t an option as we aren’t taking in people. If any of the above do show up they’ll be given water and a care package but then sent on their way.
I could not tolerate anyone living under my roof for an extended period of time. I’ve done it in the past and I’m committed to never doing it again. I don’t want to deal with the health risks, those that would refuse to respect our rules, people who get through life taking advantage of others, the personalties, and the quiet we need. It isn’t a quick decision, we’ve discussed it for months.
I recall reading about a relative coming and then having the gall to tell their friends “that’s okay they’ll take you in as well”. Next thing you know you’ve got 30 people living under your roof and now you’ve put your family’s lives in danger. Help them by giving out care packages (which obviously you will need to pay for now - get them to reimburse you so that you can get more if others show up and you can get supplies). Keep them out of your house- leave parcel outside of your quarantined area. To survive could require you to develop a thick skin - that isn’t immoral, it’s life.
Interesting that there are always comments about ‘selfish’ behavior if someone posts that they are going to turn others away, yet those that will accept some outsiders are quick to point out that they will not help everyone. But where to you draw the line? And more importantly, CAN you draw the line?
Once you decide to save someone, the responsibility for triaging the rest of humanity will be an difficult one. I think those who see outsiders in terms of black and white will handle the problem better than those who view the general population in shades of grey.
And even then, how do you handle those that will not accept your judgment, both in terms of being allowed entry and in abiding by your rules. Especially, once you have accepted someone in, it will be hard to kick them out if they do not follow your guidelines.
Maybe the answer is that there is no answer, at least until the day of judgment arrives.
Thinking back on all this I recall suddenly being whisked away to my Aunt’s farm in Manassas during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was about 10 and didnt have a clue what was going on - just that I couldnt go camping with the Scouts that weekend. As naive as we all were, my parents thought being in Manassas would save us from a direct hit on the Capital. We now know that survival would have been virtually impossible.
But to turn back to the topic at hand, none of us truly knows what we will do when the time comes. We can talk and plan until we are blue in the face, but we can’t really know for sure.
And I’m a bit amazed that there are flubies out there who have a specific goal for preps and quit prepping when they reach it (and certainly not that this is a bad thing in any way). I believe that we have been given the amazing gift of time, something that has never happened before, to keep on prepping as much and as long as we can - just in case you do decide to help your friend or family member in their darkest hour.
I hate to think that when I need help, as I most assuredly will someday, no one will take me in.
Everyone I talk to about BF- and the need to do “some type” of preparation- has been told in no certain terms that no-one will be allowed in, for any reason, once I lock it down. The alarm system has a 5 day battery, the fences are Impenetrable, and I’m a light sleeper with a closet full of ammunition for pistols and shot-guns.
FOR THOSE OF US LONERS: I go back and forth on the “company” issue. Whether I would go nuts for months on end with no company- or whether the company would drive me more crazy. But if my parents would come I’ll gladly take them in. But I don’t think they will- they’ll try to hunker down in their house a few miles away. They’ve been prepping “some”- mostly to humor me.
SUPPLIES FOR LONERS- in all of the talks about preps I haven’t seen preps for sanity,especially for those who live alone.
MY SANITY PREP list: jigsaw puzzles giant books of NY Times crossword puzzles lots of new books just arrived from amazon lots of old favorite books Wildlife coloring books and crayons sketchpads and colored pencils craft supplies Playing cards blank journals reams of writing paper and mechanical pencils My chess set- have you ever tried playing against yourself? catnip- to laugh as the cats roll about in it Hand cranked and solar radio/ cell phone chargers- to talk to someone once in awhile if main lines are down cigs- us smokers get a bad rap on these forums- but we’re not all poor, stupid, and disgusting! Wine, port, bourbon, and champagne for when its over
Somehow this thread makes me think of the dog show at the state fair. The judge is surrounded by a couple dozen gorgeous, well behaved dogs being handled by some earnest, hardworking 4H teens, each of whom would absolutely adore having the big trophy (or a ribbon) — somehow the judge has to boil down the choices — easy the year that one pooch dazzles, not so easy when they are all pretty sharp but no one is perfect. Typically the judge makes the final choices and announces the list with a firm, no-nonsense tone. There is no handwringing or debating when the news is handed out — decisions are final.
I am trying to think through NOW what I and my family can realistically do. One is to be the neighborhood avian flu “nut” saying “prepare! prepare!” — If TSHTF, I will put out some care packages and advise on the phone, but, like the dog show judge, I am going to be firm about boundaries. Saying “I am not your solution — I just can’t be” is not the same as telling someone “there is no solution” — I think it may actually be kinder to be frank up front, rather than having folks come on board that we can’t sustain.
I think this is a facet of prepping just like having enough food, heat, alternative power sources and what not.
So, what happens if family, friends or neighbors start knocking on your door once the TSHTF? We all better have a plan in place be it turning people away or planning on getting extra supplies.
My own plan (keep in mind that I do not have younger relatives except for siblings - obviously, those with families will have different priorities) is to determine if I can make it from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles where my parents and siblings live. If I think I can make it I will load the car up with important preps and make a run for it.
If I think it is too late then I will SIP in Sunnyvale. I am trying to have in place enough basic foods along with a means of cooking them (in case the grid goes down) that I don’t have to turn away any friends or neighbors that show up on my door-step. My gut feeling is that we will not make it through the pandemic unless communities/neighbors work together. Those who live in rural settings will have a little slack but no individual or family unit can make it through this alone unless you really are in the boondocks.
Having said the above, I understand those who will be looking out for their families.
My point is to determine now and prepare for what you will do when TSHTF.
Mike
Prepping for being alone is an interesting question. Personally I enjoy my own company so I don’t view it as a concern. I’ve done the math and figure I need 450 books, my chess set is electronic via batteries so I can play Igor, I’m also buying the paint and things needed for all the “projects” I’ve been putting off inside the house. I have a well stocked beverage section and a few sweets for special days. My main goal is to deepen my spiritual practices while the distractions of the earthly world put at bay by the situation whether it is BF or World War III. Overall I think it is a very exciting time and I am very curious about what is going to happen…if it were a book I would have a hard time putting it down.
no name – at 19:19.
My main goal is to deepen my spiritual practices while the distractions of the earthly world put at bay by the situation whether it is BF or World War III. Overall I think it is a very exciting time and I am very curious about what is going to happen…if it were a book I would have a hard time putting it down.
Well said. I have nothing to add.
Mike
EOD.. Wow Having two young men around if TSHTF might be an asset. Granted they will want to eat like horses but the muscle value they add in the event of civil unrest is invaluable. If you don’t want them can you send them out west.
The downside is that they will invite their parents or want to leave to help their parents if this is prolonged. Eventually if they think you are all set up they will probably bring their parents back to your home
Hard decisions. Ive been frank with family. some cannot prep and Ive prepped for them. Those who refuse to are on their own. I have made it very clear that I will not take them in and risk the saftey and well being of my grandchildren That I cannot do
This is the one thing about the panflu that has kept me awake nights. I’ve thought alot about this and talked to several people on line about it. I am not willing to risk the lives of my children and grandchildren for any one. It was really hard for me to get to the point where I came to the realization that I can’t save everyone,,, especially those who refuse to help themselves. If it comes to the point where I have to turn people away I will. It will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do and I will spend the rest of my life wondering if I did the right thing, but I’ll do it.
I’ve come to the decision that I will call the people who are welcome in my home and tell them they have to be there by what ever date… If they are not here by that date don’t bother, what they have to bring with them,,, and if they bring any extra people none of them will be welcome.
My house rules are clean up after yourself and your kids,,,,they are required to do any and all work necessary…no work no food …..But most of all if they leave my house for any reason they are not coming back period. I will lock my gate and fence and walk away. I’m only planning on people I can trust.
Anyone else shows up they get a box and a good luck. I have care packages made up. A box contain buddy burners, a small cook pot, a couple gallons of water, instant rice and beans, oatmeal, romen noodles, some dried fruits and instant veggie soup mix, a cheep tarp and rope. Some wet wipes and hand sanitizer, paper plates, cups and plastic flatware. I have several boxes of the nano masks and I will give them one each. I put information sheets in the boxes . I will leave it outside my gate and tell them not to come back.
I’m very closed mouth about my preps. You can walk right into my house and never see them, even in my pantry. The people I’m planning on have no idea what I have. I don’t plan on letting them see everything even if the are SIP here.
This is my plan, if it works or not only time will tell.
katherine – at 19:30 Yes there are definite advantages to the situation, and that’s what I am focusing on. I have always been one of the “the glass is half full” kind of guys so I am not fretting over this potential, just trying to adjust my bearings and get on with it.
EOD- I didn’t mean to downplay your concerns. For my situation I am more afraid of civil unrest then being hungry. But then again I have my three month food supply around my waist (smile)
I consider myself a generous person, specifically with my time and listening. SOmeone mentioned above that we’ve been given the gift of time to prep, and he didn’t understand how people can have a specific goal then stop prepping so they don’t prep for others.
simple answer is…finances. For myself, I can only afford to prep for me. I live alone, and rent. My dear friends own homes and have more money..and storage space…and there own land…and fireplaces etc etc etc. And they have families with four or more people. How can I possibly prep for them?
To be honest, I have pushed pleaded begged them all to prep. Articles etc. One has made only vague motions dispite having two little kids. They have the means, and the information.
I am going to admit something. I do not feel and I doubt I WILL feel, morally obligated to share my preps with a family of four other people (since I am one) NOR do I think it is my moral obligation to do so…it IS my obligation to keep warning them to prep.
I still MAY share my preps with them. But I will not allow them into my home (I doubt if that is an issue anyway as there is not room here for any family). They have made their choice by not prepping despite knowing the risks.
SO, I don’t believe anyone in my situation would be wrong not to share preps. My advice to those worried about relatives knocking on the door if the SHTF…be sure you have not given up on informing them on what is happening as the situation develops. Say..I want you to be prepared…this is happpening…it means….I feel a moral obligation to tell you what you need to prep, because I cannot help you nor afford to. Warning them and not giving up is your moral obligation. If you can afford it, get some basic preps for them if you feel you need to assuage your future guilt.
I don’t have any. Still, I will by dry milk and eggs for one friend. I have had her think thru how she will store water and printed out some basic prep strategies from fluwiki. She believes me but doesnt take action, has one day of water stored for her family with two little kids.
ssol:
I don’t see any holes. You are very realistic. There will be things that happen unexpectedly to adult children, friends with kids, like car accidents. A lot of accidents happen in the home. Some people who have thought of everything..You know what they say about the best laid plans. People who are prepping are planning for the future. Look at also helping your loved ones and friends now. I also have plans to have a tent for people to use on an emergency basis. I cannot accept them into my home, but I can provide for a couple of kids for 2 weeks until the food shortage crisis is over. Like I said on another thread. If your friend is in a car accident and survives exposure to the flu while in hospital for his injuries, he is immune. You saved his kids meanwhile. What a valuable freind to have. He can help supply your family while you sip. Your friend will be happy to replace any food that his kids have eaten. He will be the one to take you to the hospital with ruptured appendix or some other emergency. He will also check on your kids. I think people are going to need friends real friends even more during the bad times. This will not last forever and not every one will get sick. I think while we are planning for ourselves we need to plan for the unexpected to help our loved ones. With planning we can save lives and still protect our own family.
I think the best answer is to prioritize your responsibilities. Since it is logically, physically, and emotionally impossible to help everyone … where are your energies and finances best spent as an individual?
First and foremost I am responsible to my five children and husband. All our children are minors (16 years and under) and are totally dependent on hubby and I for support, nor are they anywhere near the age to be self-supporting individually. It would be radically difficult for hubby to raise 5 children on his own and vice versa. Therefore, our primary responsibility is to our immediate household.
Next out would be my parents and my brother, his wife, and the 3 boys they have between them (his and hers situation). My husband has no family. My parents live 3 hours north of us and are on limited income but are better situated to SIP where they are at … except they need to prep more, especially water, in my opinion. They don’t work out of the house except on occasion and live on 5 wooded acres. They also have skills (my dad is retired military, both parents had rural upbringings) that lend themselves to SIP. We don’t have a lot of contact with my brother and his family except during the holidays … not by choice, our lives just tend to go in different directions. My brother is a long distance truck driver and my SIL works as a dispatcher for a trucking company. My 2 biological nephews primarily live with their mother. The logistics of trying to figure out who “might” come here and when is staggering … more than likely they would go to my SIL’s parents before comeing to us.
The next layer out … probably … would be the men that my husband hires for day labor type work. We’ve known some of them for nearly 10 years. The problem with them is many of them are single males with “issues” … alcoholism, addiction, anger management, etc. I don’t have a problem with any of them normally, but bringing them into our home under stressful conditions with small children at home just wouldn’t work. They would be unable … for whatever justification … to SIP by our rules. They have enough problems following “normal” rules … SIP would just be beyond their ability to deal with.
I’m not really worried about people showing up on our doorstep as such, although I am a little worried about the men my husband hire in that they may simply assume we have extra to give. However, I still feel that I need to be prepared. I’ve made up some “gift bucket” items. That’s actually not the problem that I’m most concerned with as I’ve addressed it best I can.
If you think about it … if we assume worst case CFR, or even close to it, those people who are traipsing around aren’t really likely to last long. They will quickly fall ill and then take the illness home to their families. You are more likely to wind up with ill people coming to your home for help than you are for hungy people showing up for food. That is another kettle of fish all together.
NO name — My main goal is to deepen my spiritual practices while the distractions of the earthly world put at bay by the situation whether it is BF or World War III
I have found during long illnesses/ ordeals that this is what I also do- get closer to God. I have a mantra I repeat to myself each morning and each night- and sometimes in between.
God helps those who help themselves. I have no oars- God steers my little boat through the waters of life. Where there is faith, there is no fear.
DC -
So true. We knock ourselves out with all our prepping plans but in the end, whatever will be, will be; and we should all be prepared for that:)
prepmaniac – at 07:35 There will be things that happen unexpectedly to adult children, friends with kids, like car accidents.
There is another “unexpected” consequence that occurred to me a few days ago, when I stopped taking my daily aspirin in preparation for donating blood this afternoon: While some “elective” surgeries will be postponed during a pandemic, other surgeries will take place and auto accidents will occur and people may be injured during civil unrest.
If a large percentage of the population is ill, and if nurses & technicians in the blood donor centers are diverted to acute care facilities, what will happen to our blood supplies?
I donate platelets, and am large enough to be able to donate 2 or 3 units of platelets every 28 days. Unless I am ill or in self-imposed strict isolation at home, I intend to continue to donate every month. During an emergency, I am confident the medical director of my local center will shorten that 28-day interval to the absolute minimum (without jeopardizing his FDA certification). Still, I predict there will be shortages.
Just one more cheery thought to brighten your day…
Dennis- Its not just the blood supplies that will be in trouble. Check out a recent article from the American College of Physicans http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/145/2/141
From John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. Excerpts:
The U.S. health care system is fragmented, is financially distressed, operates with “just-in-time” supplies, and has minimal surge capacity. According to the American Hospital Association, the average proportion of open beds is 4% to 6% of total bed capacity (15), which means that a pandemic will quickly overwhelm hospitals, intensive care units, and emergency departments.
The gap between our need for surge capacity in urban areas and our current resources is staggering.
The question is, are we ready for this type of pandemic? The answer is probably no. The main problems are the lack of an effective vaccine, very poor surge capacity, a health care system that could not accommodate even a modest pandemic, and erratic regional planning. It’s time to get ready, and in the process be ready for bioterrorism, natural disasters, and epidemics of other infectious diseases.
Most people feel that we should plan for the worst. Complacency is not acceptable.
The medical consequences would include the following: 1) The attack rate in the United States would be 30%, causing 90 million cases; 2) of those infected, about 50% would seek medical care; 3) the excess mortality would be 209 000 to 1 903 000 deaths; and 4) the outbreak in a community would last about 6 to 8 weeks.
The College’s position paper appropriately emphasizes the need to spare hospitals and emergency departments from demands that other organizations could fulfill. Planners must make maximum use of nonhospital resources (such as shelters, schools, nursing homes, hotels, and civic centers) to deliver vaccine and antiviral agents and provide “fever clinics” and resources to deal with other outpatient medical care issues, as in New York City, which established a model program for rapid and efficient delivery of prophylactic antibiotics during the anthrax incident in 2001
Those of you planning a quarantine tent in the back yard, remember the shovel and wood to nail together a seat support for a backyard latrine. You don’t want them expecting to come indoors to use the toilet.
So this is where all the single women are hanging out? (jest kidding, kind of sort of) In any event.. if I could grow a tribe, I’d certainly prep with that in mind.
If they won’t listen, they won’t. They have to live with that. Somebody else’s failure to prepare does not create a moral imperative for you.
As stated previously, if someone shows up uninvited, they get invited to leave. If they refuse, I insist, as firmly as I must to get them to leave.
The fact that I have set aside preps for those who I deem deserving does not mean that anyone can claim those preps.
Closed to maintain Forum speed.