mom2one Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hello Good People! Thank you for having this forum and keeping it active! I am new to prepping in reference to long term. I've been gathering information, formulating my plan and making all kinds of lists. Extra money is tight but I've got a budget going for our preps and will begin stocking soon. A bit about me, my name is Pam. I'm mom to a wonderful 10 year old boy. DS is totally disabled and has been since birth. He is on a ventilator with a trach, has a g-tube and will most likely be dependent on others for his care for the rest of his life. He is non-verbal and non-mobile. He is the main catalyst that prompted me to start learning about long term prepping. With all that is going on in the world, I'm scared to death about what will happen to him if our meager 'creature' comforts were gone. DH is also disabled. He can care for himself and is able to help me in most areas. We live in the southern part of the US. We've prepped for hurricanes and flooding. Quite a bit of what I've read online I had already become familiar with due to those. The only other person I've talked to (really specifically) regarding long term prepping is my mom. DH is prone to be reactive as opposed to proactive. I'm totally the opposite. I don't like surprises and I definitely don't like to depend on others for my well being (if at all possible). I have been easing DH into long term prepping with conversations like the high costs of food and gas, insuring our lives are strong for DS. At one point in our lives we were homeless. He understands my fierce determination that we won't be there again. I consider myself a "Jane-of-all-trades" as I have had hands-on experience with canning, gardening, carpentry, home repairs, some mechanical repairs and a few others. I can sew both with a machine and by hand. I can crochet. I can repurpose most items in some fashion. I look forward to learning more and contributing as much as I can. Till next time, Pam Link to comment
Jori Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Grab a cup of coffee or tea, or whatever you prefer, and have a seat! This is a great site and everyone is very helpful! Link to comment
WormGuy Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Welcome mom2one! Lots of good info here so start digging around and you will find something useful. Please share as much as you can because ya never know who it will help. Ask any questions you have even if they have been asked before, we are here to help. John Link to comment
MomM Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Welcome, so glad you are here! Link to comment
Jeepers Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hi Pam So glad you could join us! If you have any questions feel free to ask. People here are so supportive and willing to share information. Link to comment
mom2one Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Thank you all for the kind and warm welcomes... Link to comment
Sunflower Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Hi Pam. My first message a few hours ago would not take - I had not signed in. I did not have time to rewrite then. So I am back. Your intro was extra touching. Your plate sounds so very full. In your situation, just prepping adequately for a week or month could be a hurdle. Perhaps, social services has a means to be supportive of prepping concerns that are specific to your son. Having alternative power would be an obvious one. (In California, my sister is required to have 2 weeks food for her son who receives in home services for his developmental disabilities and medical constraints). I go through the website: Survivinghealthy.com for my medications that are real important. For example, when I get the funds, I will next be ordering blood pressure and blood thinner medication. I have had CVAs before (stroke and TIA). Last one was two years ago. The new blood thinner works very well for me. In May or so, it will be offered as a generic in USA, so that will help. I only mention this contact for preppers because the doctor and nurse that offer the private consultation service do so with medically sensitive preppers in mind. (www.survivinghealthy.com). I also purchased antibiotics from them - I have multiple allergies to most of the earlier antibiotics. Your life does not sound dull Pam. Glad you have that great son to keep you going. Though the burdens in our home and in my sister's home are not as medically profound as yours, we do have our own version of them. I have an idea of the weight you must me carrying in your quest to prepare as much as possible. Glad you joined! Have fun and easy does it .-TESS of Kansas Link to comment
snapshotmiki Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Welcome to MrsS! It does sound like you have a very full life already! I look forward to getting to know you! Link to comment
sassenach Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Welcome Mom2One. Very good point, being proactive. good term to try and use on my son now that he and his wife have their own home and are settling in! Link to comment
AMarthaByHeart Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Welcome mom2one!! I hope you learn as much as I have on here. It sounds like you really have a good start on the knowledge and experience front. There are many good threads on here. When you get the time, set back and enjoy. Link to comment
mom2one Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 A bit more about me - I truly believe that knowledge conquers fear and that acting on that knowledge is empowering. In my life I have driven an 18-wheeler, grown chickens commercially, had several small businesses, worked a a couple of times in the medical field and various other learning avenues. When I first found MrsSurvival, I was enthralled with the information and experience from a woman's point of view. Most of the other sites I researched were heavy into weapons and roughing it in the wild. I understand weapons are important, especially when having to defend what's mine, but I guess I needed the Mom perspective to help me get started. In storing my preps - I'm faced with not only hiding them from nosy visitors, I also have nursing staff here 6 days per week, teacher here 2 days per week and therapists, case managers, etc throughout the month. But with all the info and tips I've read here, I feel better able to store and keep private what I've got. I feel pretty certain I can keep most folks from questioning too much about my activities as I have always been doing some kind of project that others might feel is quite loony. The think I'm really 'adventurous' about trying new things. I've taught them that I am a perpetual student and love to learn. My greatest fear at this point is no electricity. DS can breathe on his own for up to 3 hours but gets labored after that time. We have back up batteris but when those run out of juice we would have to use his ambu bag. Additionally, if he gets too hot, his seizures could start. I've been toying with the generator route. Lots of variables at this point for me to make a decision on a generator. Thank you again for the warm welcomes... Living and Learning, Pam Link to comment
sassenach Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Also look into solar packages/ generators too if you have enough sun shine. It may also be more portable if you need to vacate the residence you are in for any need. Seems like you can probably meet that need fairly soon. I would want to make sure of that before midsummer. there is alot going on nationally and internationally that may make things hard to maintain or even have at all and electricity for your sons breathing needs is a must have need. Although you may prep to stay in place at home, you may need something portable if you need to move your son elsewhere for a time. You sure have a lot of folks to deal with too! wow! Well, there are all sorts of threads on the site about how to disguise stuff you store on this site. We have had alot of creative ideas shared, through the years. One other question, do you have water available that you can purify or a well with a solar or manual pump system in case of no electricity? Wind power also works of course. Just tossing some more vital ideas out there. Not sure how your new farm is set up for water. Water storage too. Link to comment
Jeepers Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Mom2one, I like your term of being proactive (not the acne med ) too. Having extra things here at the house just makes life easier for me. No panic rushing out to the store or waiting for an online delivery. I totally agree about this site being more from a woman's point of view. That's why I joined here. I know weapons and protection are as important as a well stocked pantry but so many of the other sites I've seen skip over the pantry part and focus on the weapon part. Anyway, I love it here and I hope you will too. I would check into solar emergency batteries too. Traditional generators are so loud and require a steady supply of gas. I'm not real sure how the "solar system" works but I think you could have a couple of large batteries that you could keep charged up 'solarly' You could also run a small fan off of them. Okay...I'll stop now before I further expose my ignorance. Link to comment
mom2one Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I really like the solar route. I didn't even think of generators being solar - duh, Pam! For the most part we get plenty of sunshine. My initial hold up with traditional generators was the fuel and cost. We are renting and on a fixed income so a big stash of fuel is not possible at this point. My quick check of solar powered ones showed promise (cost wise) if they can provide enough power. According to the owners manual, the vent needs 11V to 15V of DC power. I didn't research deeper to see what models would carry that load. I need to see what his suction machine, box fan and other electrical stuff we use with him would require. That'll be my next assignment of homework/research. If we can get out of here, we can run the vent using the van for power. (We always leave if a hurricane is expected in our area.) We also have a back up battery (about 6 hours run time) for the vent that is always charged. The vent itself has a 45 min battery too. I'm thankful that he can breathe on his own. I know I worry too much sometimes. I've accepted the fact that I can only do so much and as long as I'm trying and planning and thinking ahead, that's all I can do. Too many times I didn't think ahead or pay attention and was caught off guard. I don't want to be there again. Thank you, thank you, thank you again for this site! It has helped to calm my worries and given me a blueprint to get our family ready to face the future! Pam:bouquet: Link to comment
sassenach Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 It's a learning experience and one of the solar generators I saw was great cause it was a small one, easily carried around. It was meant for someone like me in a small apartment or dorm situation and ran about 450$ at the time I looked at it but I cannot remember the website name! If I do come across it, or can find it on the old laptop history/bookmarks I will repost it for you , they had several different systems, but that one was handy. I think it handled at least 20volts items so it might work?? One of the things we all seem to be finding as we tailor fit to our own needs, what preps are needed and on various budgets. I too am on a fixed income and finally ordered my wonderwash laundry washer, a manual crank little washer that some here say works really well to clean clothes you can put in it it. It will be very handy and I can use it at counter level at my kitchen sink instead of use a five gallon bucket in a cramped shower which is very difficult because of my physical stuff going on , especially now. but its just one item I need and it took a long time since I first found it before I could get it with so many other things in between then and now... my wish list is still as full as can be but its worth it to determine exactly what will suit you before you invest. So many of the gas generators today are so cheaply made now that folks here often comment on their purchases so definitely create a post dealing with your comparisons on various models and such and maybe someone can tell you exactly what you can expect. I just thought of that one small solar generator and wasn't sure what 'loads' you need to run so definitely figure out something. I know alot of the panels for solar charging can also be rolled up and such but you may need inverters and such too as part of the set up so it's worth studying a while to find exactly what you would need and if you can find folks who have experience actually using them you can chat with about it, that may help you in your decision making. Learning to use it all and testing it out , whatever the gear is , when you get it delivered is good instead of just placing the boxes in your preps so you know how it all goes together and such and if it is all functioning so you have it ready to use when needed. Its also got to be a lot quieter too, to use solar rather than gas which helps not draw unwanteds looking to loot and take what you worked hard to acquire and really need and paid for honestly. Link to comment
themartianchick Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Hi, Pam! I look forward to reading your posts. I am somewhat familiar with households that have outside help coming and going. I have a disabled nephew living next door and he has two nurses that visit each day. While it can be somewhat invasive, it also can become the excuse for all of the stuff that you store in order to be prepared. My brother inlaw cares for his son and only works part time, so money is tight. No one is surprised that he keeps extra boxes of Depends around. It only makes sense as it can be difficult taking his son out into the weather to run to the store. Let me be clear...he does not prep as we do, but he never wants to be without something that he might need for his son. So he has a deep freezer so he can store discounted meat from the grocery store. He keeps a lot of canned applesauce on hand for administering meds to his son. Now those Depends boxes are mighty useful camouflage... You can hide them in plain sight and no one would ever guess that they contained something other than adult diapers. They can be re-taped with shipping tape and the nurses would just think that he had a good supply of incontinence supplies. Of course, if they were in my house, they'd be full of jarred spaghetti sauce and other canned goods! Link to comment
mom2one Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 I like the reuse of the Depends boxes. DS has big boxes from his 'britches' and his suction catheters. I'm going to have start keeping them - that will save me $$ too as I was taking them to the recycling center. Woo Hoo!! Link to comment
CrabGrassAcres Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hi Pam! Can you get your hands on a Kill-a-watt meter? You plug it into the wall and then plug your appliance into the meter and it tells you how much power the appliance needs. Once you have that info, you can start planning for alternate power supplies. My daughter thankfully, doesn't require special equipment. She is ambulatory, can spoon feed herself, potties, but with frequent accidents so needs pull up diapers. She does not get her food or drink for herself and is nearly nonverbal with minimal understanding of language. My greatest worries are if we must evac due to fire or tornado. She doesn't move fast, ever, and I'm not sure we could get out since I no longer drive due to vision problems. She is on a special diet as well which is the main reason I cook and bake everything from scratch. I also have to produce milk, eggs and dairy for her since she reacts to most commercially produced items. Wondering if it might be possible to work your son up to longer periods without the ventilator? Link to comment
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