A Few Thoughts

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

My mother had knee replacement surgery 2 weeks ago, and so I've been helping take care of her and also doing a lot of her chores around the house while she recovers. Therefore, this post will not have a single topic; instead, it's what David calls a "buffet post".


Save Your Post-Surgery Medication
This advice does not apply to antibiotics; if you are prescribed an antibiotic then you must finish your entire course of medication unless your doctor says otherwise.

However, for everything else that is prescribed on an as-needed basis -- anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, pain killers, etc -- keep them in your preps to have on hand for an emergency. For example, I am prone to kidney stones, and in 99% of all such cases the best treatment is to wait for the stone to pass into the bladder. However, the act of passage hurts immensely; my mother, who has had three children and one kidney stone, said that her stone hurt worse than any of her deliveries. The next time I have another kidney stone, instead of going to the ER I'll just take one of the oxycodones I was prescribed in 2017 after the dog attack and then try to sleep through the pain until it passes.

Don't throw your medication away once it's past its expiration date, either! That date simply means "After this point the medicine is no longer 100% effective." I don't know about you, but I'm just fine taking medicine with a 99% effectiveness. See this post for more details, but the short version is that you can easily get four or more years worth of storage out of medications.


Cultivate Additional Food Sources
Our back yard butts up against a forest, and my mother enjoys feeding the squirrels, raccoons and deer which live there. Not only are we encouraging the growth of an animal population which could feed us in an emergency, but we are also conditioning them to not fear humans.


Have a Plan to Move Disabled Family Members
If we had to evacuate right now, it would be a lot more complicated than normal. Not only is mom moving much more slowly, but she needs a walker. That factors into my bug out plans, because it means that any evacuation will take longer and will require space for her walker (thankfully, it's collapsible) in the car.

If we have to walk?  Well, I have a deer cart and a chaise lounge cushion. It won't be fun for either of us, but if it'll cart a 500 lb deer out of the forest, it will easily carry a 120 pound woman and her BOB.


That's all for now. Hopefully I've have a more coherent post next week!