Be prepared

In the case of emergency, make sure you have some essentials packed in your vehicle

I recently spent the night in a hospital as my husband was the patient. He started in the emergency room and then was admitted to the cardiac floor as an outpatient. Altogether we were there for about thirty hours. I stayed with him and they were the longest thirty hours in my life. We had travelled over an hour to get to the hospital and I did not want to leave my husband to run back home to get essentials.

Several hours passed before I remembered the emergency bag we always have in the back of our truck. I got it and found there were several things I should have included but had not thought of before. I did find a shirt (slept in it), book and toothbrush.

If you followed my advice in a previous article, great, you will just have to add a change of underwear, deodorant, hairbrush (surprising how this will bring confidence and a sense of well-being), at least one day’s supply of extra medications, a small amount of cash for vending machines or the newspaper and something to while away the hours—a book, cards, knitting—unless TV would do enough as a distraction.

If, on the other hand, this is the first you have heard of the various bags I suggested in past issues, we can fix that.

The emergency bag should contain a hat, gloves, long-sleeved shirt, socks, underwear, toothbrush, tissues, a packet of raisins and nuts, insect repellant, sunscreen and those hand warmers hunters use—one for each person who usually travels with you. Your vehicle should have at least one blanket and a first aid kit. Most important of all is a list of all medications—both prescription and over the counter—with the dosage. If you use herbal medications they should be on this list also.

A copy of this information should always be with you and another copy should be in the glove compartment of your vehicle. As you can see, I have tried to prepare for both hot and cold weather. The reason for this is that I tend to put off going through my bag and the season changes before I check it, especially if I have not had to use it or not changed medicine.

I hope this reminder will serve you well, but even more so, I hope you will not need it.