Preparedness

Bishop H. Burke Peterson once told the church:

"It is a serious issue. Let's not forget one of the most important lessons learned through the year's supply program is the lesson of obedience" (Church News, 4/12/1975).

In my previous blog, "Emergency Preparedness Tip - Inventory," I overviewed the need to have a food supply for emergencies. And not just a food supply to get you through the weekend; no, we're talking a more extensive one (incidentally, the government recommends this also now).

But what about medical needs? Are you prepared after this fashion?

Of course, if you starve to death because you had no food during an emergency, medicine becomes less of an issue! This is why we must steadily add to a food storage system to take care of our family's nutritional needs. LDSBlogs.com's Preparedness category offers ideas; there are books also on the subject.

Let's say, though, that you now have sufficient food storage for your family. You're set for months - even if the government forced a quarantine due to the bird flu. You have at least three months of every day food items that your family is used to eating; you have water stored in multiple places around the house; you have longer-term food items also, such as wheat, rice, beans, sugar, etc. You'll be fine. You even have heat sources ready to cook all the food.

But ... what about your medical needs?

1. CPR Skills.

First of all, is anyone trained in your family to do CPR? If not, this becomes a first line of business. Schedule a class now. These are offered by local fire departments, the American Heart Association, the Red Cross, etc. But they are not usually offered weekly. This is why it is important to get it scheduled on your calendar, so that you don't miss the next one in your community!

2. First Aid Skills

Second, does anyone in your family know simple first aid? What if a natural disaster happened in your area, breaking the leg of a family member ... would you know how to set the leg? Did you know that thigh breaks are particularly serious, because the broken bone inside could sever a main artery? Amazing how first aid knowledge can become so priceless in an emergency!

If your family has not had this kind of training, call your local fire department and inquire about first aid classes. They will be able to direct you to the appropriate resources. (The internet can also provide you with information. Some companies even have kits with DVD materials for your family to watch and learn.) Whatever you choose to do, just make sure you DO something, so that your family can gain these priceless skills.

3. Medicine.

Do you have a reserve of medicine? Check with your doctor. Begin using the three month mail order possibility, if it exists with your insurance company. Stay on top of this. Learn herbal substitutes for minor emergency scenarios (some medical issues CANNOT be dealt with herbally - this is why your medical needs to be dealt with in advance). Make sure you have what you would need if the stores shut tomorrow and you couldn't get your meds. Stay on top of this!

Summary.

It need not be overwhelming. Just set one goal a day and work on it.

Of course there are many variables. It is impossible to predict them all. But the most important thing to remember is to become friends with the Lord today. Do so through scriptures study, prayer, Sabbath day worship. The more you learn His ways, the more He will be able to help you with your ways - especially when facing an emergency situation!

For more information on overall provident living, visit the Provident Living website, offered freely by the Mormon church.

I remember when I found my baby not breathing in his crib. It was horrible. I tried to remember CPR and couldn't. "This can't be happening to me," I thought as I tried to find my cordless phone to call 911.

Flash forward now nearly 14 years later. My baby did not make it (to view Mormons' perspective on death, visit these informational sites: "physical death" and "spiritual death." I will say that families can be together forever. This knowledge helped me with the grief I felt losing my baby (here is an informational link on eternal families).

But getting back to my son's death, I was told that even if I had remembered CPR, my little son could not have been revived. His lungs had collapsed during the night. A mortician performed an autopsy and told us the diagnosis: "SIDS" (Sudden Infant Death).

Yet I still can remember the frantic feeling of not knowing CPR.

Do you know CPR? If you were once certified by the American Heart Association, Red Cross, or other group, are you still certified? Even if you are certified, if you were at the park tomorrow and a child collapsed, could you remember enough to help him or her properly?

These are all questions which need to be answered. I know that if I collapsed somewhere I would be infinitely grateful for someone who'd had the foresight to learn life saving skills.

Boy Scouts aren't the only ones who hear "Be Prepared." In the Mormon church, we are taught that as we wait for Christ's second coming to be prepared in all things - both spiritual and temporal. In fact, ancient and modern prophets have taught this same wisdom for thousands of years, whether it is having food storage, a financial reserve, or even health (see D&C 89).

So I ask you. Do you know CPR? It's not been around that long. In fact, according to Richard Match (contributor to the book Reader's Digest Family Safety & First Aid) 1958 was the first time where breathing in someone's mouth was noted in use to save a life. This process soon became called "rescue breathing."

I won't go into the steps here (I've since obtained certification and am actually ordering a CPR Home Learning System for my family to practice with now that they've taken classes). But I will suggest that you quickly call your local fire department and inquire about classes.

(The American Heart Association seems to lead the way with the most up-to-date information; local fire departments usually have A.H.A. class information. Of course, you could also take a CPR class from a local Red Cross. The important point is that you take steps now to do so.)

In addition to CPR classes, inquire also about first aid classes. Setting bones and helping victims of sudden weather tragedies, etc., can be so important if your community experienced an emergency (let alone your family).

I lost my child due to SIDS. The mortician told me there was nothing I could have done. But I remember the helpless feeling of "no CPR knowledge" when I found him not breathing. I don't want that to happen to you! Call and schedule a CPR class today.

For further information on being prepared in all ways (not just CPR and first aid), visit the Provident Living website.

If you're like me, medical appointments are not your favorite activity. In fact, the first year of my son's life, due to his medical concerns, we were having multiple appointments a week for months on end. Needless to say, I burned out in "going to see the doctor."

But medical needs are not to be ignored. So while we're discussing emergency preparedness, medical preparedness is one of those really important categories.

Just imagine, you have a throbbing tooth. It's something you've ignored for months. You do have medical benefits right now - even dental ones - but you don't feel like figuring out what is wrong with your tooth. Therefore you continue to ignore the pain that comes and goes as you eat hot or cold foods.

Now flash forward months down the road. Company layoffs ripple through the corporation. And now suddenly, you are one of the individuals who have been hit by your company's downsizing. Not only are you without a job, but now your tooth is aching even more. But now you don't have dental benefits to offset the expensive root canal you can no longer avoid!

This is just one scenario why it is advisable that while you are looking at emergency preparedness issues, medical preparedness should be one of those items discussed.

Thus, it is important that you get in the habit of taking care of your medical needs and those of your family. Remember, preparedness is not a one-time event; it is a lifestyle - even when it comes to physical preparedness.

Be proactive. Think in advance. Take advantage of your company's mail-order pharmacy program, if it is available. That way you'll at least have three months of medications on hand, rather than just the usual 30 days.

Remember, emergencies are rarely foreseen. That is why it is important that we plan ahead. We never know what kind of upheaval can happen in our communities. Nothing is worse than putting off a med refill, just to find that now the stores are closed because of an enormous storm that blew through.

When we are prepared, we fear less. We have a more general sense of ease. And although we do not seek difficult times, if they do come our way, being prepared helps us handle them in better fashion. And if we have children, it is even more urgent that we are ready for most, if not all, medical needs.

Indeed, if you're like me, medical appointments are not your favorite activity. But medical needs are not to be ignored. So remember in your emergency preparedness plans, medical preparedness needs to be one of those really important included categories.