Disaster preparedness

At least we're not in Times Square in New York City right now. That's what I'm telling myself, as I figure out how to handle the "boil water" order in our area because of a major water-main break. The authorities say they hope it will be "days, not weeks" until the leak is fixed.

We're really luck, because - besides not being in Times Square, where the bomb threat happened yesterday and people staying in hotels there got stuck without their belongings for hours - we're at our summer cottage, and for the moment have drinkable water. But it will be hard to me to get to work from here. I don't want to go back home, though, because both my daughter and I are more vulnerable to the effects of the potentially contaminated water that's in our pipes there now. (Not to mention our two cats.) Yes, we could boil water or use bottle water to clean the sippy cups and other plastic utensils H uses, and use lots of paper. It would be hard to bathe her without her drinking the bathwater, though. (I love it when "authorities" tell you to keep small children from doing exactly the thing that you can't possibly keep them from doing.)

This sort of event always makes me nervous. I instinctively pat my insulin pump, as if for reassurance, and mentally run through my list of "emergency" supplies. I'm a seemingly healthy, relatively young person, and my daughter is as healthy as kids come, yet we're both really vulnerable when things go even a little awry. When the 9/11 attackes happened, I was just glad that I had plenty of insulin pump supplies on hand, because the only way to get them is through the mail; local pharmacies don't carry them. (I had ordered a new medical alert bracelet just before the attacks, and had to order it again; the mail got all fouled up.) In fact, it is almost always impossible to get new pump supplies any sooner than two weeks, even under the best of circumstances. I learned this all too well during pregnancy, when I suddenly needed to use my arm instead of my abdomen for infusions, and needed a different type of infusion set, overnight. Yes, my doctor has some limited supples - which saved me at that moment. And if I had to, I could go back to injecting, although I am so out of practice with that, I'd need a lot of supervision from my doctor. Still, I have found myself without something crucial sometimes - mostly when travelling, but sometimes just during my daily routine - and have had to scramble.

I do my best to have extra supplies on hand, and have them wherever I might need them - at home, work, the cottage, and in my purse, my car, and my husband's car. I keep extra pump supplies, test strips, sugar, and, at work, some nonperishable food (some folks once got stuck there until 10 pm during a snow storm; you never know!). I keep my glucagon in my purse, and have talked with my husband and a couple of peopel at work about how to use it. Yet, I constant have to use most of these sources (except the glucagon, which keeps expiring; I've never had to use it), so it's a challenge to keep them all properly stocked. I also keep some extra food (wheat-free granola bars) and sugar tablets in my daughter's diaper bag - although I once had to remove the sugar when I brought the bag to her daycare, because it was considered a "medication" that wasn't registered for H's use.

Interestingly, several online resources talk about disaster preparedness when you have diabetes. But most of them are either for health professionals or others who might have to care for someone with diabetes, or they're basic and basically aimed at folks with type 2 diabetes (keep checking your sugar 3-4 times a day; eat properly!). The best advice seems to come from Diabetes Monitor. Still, their list is just a starting point - you really have to individualze your own list. On mine, cotton balls are out, but teething gel is in (I use it for numbing the skin before inserting the infusion-set needle). I always carry antibiotic ointment, too. When I travel, an extra pair of socks is always there. Right now, I don't think I have a valid prescription for syringes; the list reminds me I need to get that again!

Of course, with a kid, you need a separate list of emergency supplies - more like every-day-needs supplies, because you end up using them so often. That list runs more like juice boxes, diapers, wipes, pain reliever, extra clothes, and snacks. Sometimes my own snack supplies go to H, but I try to keep them separate, just to be sure we both have what we need.

What sort of tricks do you use for keeping supplies on hand? Do news reports of disasters make you more careful - or more pessimistic about being able to properly prepare?