My sister, Mary, just had an experience. She lives in a retirement community in Michigan. Early yesterday morning, she was awakened by a pounding. The source was not apparent. There was no one at her front door.
Because she has limited mobility, she called a male friend down the hall who checked on Mary's closest neighbor. It turned out that this woman had fallen. However, she managed to unlock her apartment door, and began pounding to call attention to her plight. Mary called for help and shortly thereafter, the police arrived and helped the lady to her feet, and then to bed. The ambulance was cancelled and all was well for her, or at least better, than it had been. Thank goodness she had the presence of mind to unlock her door and pound. And thank goodness she lives next to Mary.
This story made me think. I decided that a post about being ready for an emergency might be a good idea.
I want whoever reads this to remember this woman, think about your own situation, and maybe put some of Mary's suggestions to use.
I've always needed to feel prepared. Maybe it's my cub/boy scout background. I've certainly never thought of myself as a prepper. However, just before we came to live in New Zealand, I had 550 meals of beans, rice, barley, and pasta stored in oxygen-free containers. I also had canned fish, meats, sugar, salt, toilet paper and lots of other long-life necessities stored away.
When we arrived here, I learned about the Shake Out drill that is held every year across the country. In such a seismically active locale, it just makes sense. We had great drills each October. My daughter and grandsons joined in of course, ducked under cover, and held on to the table legs for the duration of our mock quakes. Another part of Shake Out readiness was maintaining an emergency supply of food. You might imagine that I took on that project with vigor. (My grandsons helped me with it. You should always have some boy-chosen snack items in any emergency stash, and of course, we had to do some extensive research before deciding on the best ones.)
Here at Waitakere Gardens, Jeanne and I have made some preparations that I'd like to share with you. Our preparations are suitable for us. Your own needs are undoubtedly very different, and I urge you to do whatever seems right for your situation.
We are fortunate in that we have three emergency call buttons/pulls within our apartment in case of a fall, illness, or other situation. I have also made a change because of a suggestion Mary made. She stores her phone down low and even takes it into the bathroom when she bathes/showers. Excellent idea! One of the most dangerous places for old folks is a tub or shower. Doesn't matter if you have a shower chair or rails, stuff happens.
I used to store my phone on a high shelf. I now keep it on my desk, which I can reach from the floor. All the numbers I might need on in my contacts on the phone and I make sure I charge it daily.
We call what you see in the photo a trolley. They are used everywhere here, but mostly by older people, for carrying shopping. We have this one dedicated to our emergency evacuation.
In it we each have a change of underwear, socks, warm clothes, water, long-life food bars, and important papers. If, in an emergency, we have to leave our apartment, instantly, it is stored in a place we can grab as we leave the apartment. We would add just one more item to it. That is the tin we use to store our medications. That would add just seconds to grab.
Thanks for the very helpful reminder that we all need to be prepared in the case of an emergency evacuation! Your trolleys seem to be just the right size and lightweight enough to handle in a hurry, but since I don't have one, my wheeled carry-on suitcase would probably work - or even a backpack. Natural and man-made disasters are happening more frequently and for me floods are a high possibility, but wind and even fire are also up there too. I recently watched a show on the wildfire that burned Fort McMurray in Alberta in 2016 - that was unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteBut back down to a personal scale - what a scary thing that must have been for Mary's neighbor - and Mary! I am relatively healthy now, but I need to learn not to take my health for granted.
Thanks again for the reminder and tips!
Have fun formulating your plan.
DeleteYes, I agree that Mary and Doug's ideas are excellent. Fred and I will definitely think about having a more formal plan. Very smart ideas. Better safe than sorry is an old adage that applies here. McKenzie
ReplyDeleteGood luck
DeleteWe ordered one of these wheeled carts today on Amazon. We can use it for all sorts of things but it can be used in an emergency situation. Thanks for the tips. McKenzie
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I think it's necessary for us to have our important papers handy. What a pain if we lost them. It's a non-traditional place to keep them, but so what?
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