Posted Star Wars Day 5/4/23
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. -Prov 6:6-8
https://www.ky3.com/2023/05/03/caught-camera-ky3-viewer-captured-powerful-tornado-battlefield-mo/ (This is the town I lived in, a block from the house pictured in this video. My house was relatively ok.)
This is the 20th anniversary of one swarm of tornados that hit our area. I spent the day on 5/4/3 in Stockton, but it seemed storms were coming, so I headed home to Battlefield. The swarm of tornados hit both and many other places in our area. The strip mall where my and my siblings’ Radio Shack was to be installed a month later was shredded. Right behind our building was one of the fatalities. Wanda, interviewed in the above video, reminded me of the need to keep reminding all of my friends here that illness and disease is NOT something respected by natural disaster. Wanda lost her husband who, if I remember right, was in a wheelchair at the time and was quite ill.
The Ready in 3 program is helpful in preparing for a disaster and is pretty simple for 75% of society. Here is that info:
https://health.mo.gov/emergencies/readyin3/
This can still be a template for us in preparation as well, however, caregivers with a loved one at home with dementia have bonus considerations. Here are a few:
How to shelter– One can try to visit the shelter, if it is outside the home, to familiarize a loved one with the concept, but, as you know, familiarity is fleeting. Often it is easier and potentially similar in safety to shelter in the home in an interior room away from windows (Bathroom is common). The good news is, in the case of a tornado, it is rare for the event to last longer than a few minutes although it seems longer.
What you need– Food, drinks, fidget items (for some mid- to late-stage patients), music, medical papers, meds, medical equipment, etc… Some of the same things, some different from what is cited in Ready in 3.
At least think about things that could happen, not to depress or stress you out, but to empower yourself.
This is truly important stuff. My stepdad showed up for lunch the other day and the entire nursing home population was in the parking lot! They were doing a fire drill. It is critical…
I hate the disease and I sure don’t want to make it easier for it to suck by being unprepared….
#EndALZ
Update: Mom was about the same again yesterday. It was a nice visit and she stayed awake the whole time, so I count that a win.
Here are some more links for preparing: LINK and LINK (some good stuff mixed with too many ads) and LINK
My staff practicing tornado safety in a drill. 🙂 Drilling doesn’t have to be all learning…
