Prepping when ill or infirm

[jansman]

I am very glad you are now getting sorted GeeGee. Top marks for your adaptability,especially as Hubby is very poorly. You can’t make it up,such troubles.Mrs J sends her best wishes too.x

This last week I have been in hospital again. I had another seizure,but because it was so intense this time,Mrs J dared not drive me there. Ambulance job,and that’s another story…

So this time we really found out about that hospital bag.

First of all it was a rucksack. Wrong. Too tightly packed,too ‘round’ .So The Boss got a sports bag.It sits flat,packs more loosely.It has pockets designed to take a pair of shoes,bottles of water,phone and charger. You get it. I won’t tell you what to put in yours ; that is your business.However,put plenty of water in.Whilst being kept in the ambulance *waiting room* for nearly four hours- yes that long- access to water,particularly for Mrs J,was limited. Mind you,needing the loo ( me) was a major issue as I had to be trollied there! So not drinking too much had positive and negative impacts. Another item the boss put in is a couple of pairs of the *walking* socks the nurses put on your feet. Most useful and comfortable.
Next week I have 4 hospital appointments,the most important and strenuous being my chemotherapy treatment. I will be late. On one occasion my appointment was 4 pm. It was done at 10.30 pm. Then I was put into a bed as I had a seizure during that time! So on Friday we will put the emergency bag in the car,just in case. On a day appointment we also take an open shopping bag with a phone charger and battery pack,water,food and a book each. You know.Mrs J also has her handbag

Finally I got home. We have major flooding in the valley,and for whatever reason after we found a way home,we had a 20 hour power cut.Great Now not so long ago we had solid fuel heating and had for years and years.I removed it because the boss doesn’t want the muck and cleaning,and hoofing fuel etc.etc. So we are all electric
I knew when the stoves were removed that in an emergency we could cook easily and we would certainly have light! We have a way to power a phone ,plenty of books and Mrs J her knitting and crochet.Also a battery radio. But no electric heating However,when I removed the stoves ,and replaced them with electric versions ( they are brilliant by the way) I insisted we had a mobile gas heater ,and an adequate supply of gas. Also I sorted a pipe input into the living room with a removable weather cover for diesel heating if it really goes wrong! As it was I went to the workshop and fetched the gas heater. It’s covered and stood on a sack barrow ready to wheel in.So I did.I’ve taught Mrs J how to connect and ignite,and after putting on the hearth,she did. It was bang on! Lovely and warm. As it happened,we went to bed after a couple of hours ( nice warm Winter bedding ) and then the power came on by morning or so.

So that’s it for now. I’m still alive at this point.

[Yorkshire Andy]

On the kids front with all that rain the TV showing various areas flooded out told little man to get his toys put in the toy boxes so it's easier to move if we get a flood warning... Popped to the shed and back he's taken all his new toys from Santa to his bedroom 'safe upstairs daddy" never seen him tidy his stuff up so fast he then came to see if his new bike was high up in my shed fortunately it's sat on top of mine so I got away with that one

That is genius level child rearing! Would not have worked on mine as we were in a 5th floor flat when they were small.

Tried to normalise minor SHTF.. he thinks it's great to have a power cut flick off the lighting circuits and give him a torch that's an hour + of fun to be had round the house and a saving on the leccy bill

Took him to the mother in law's just before Christmas to "see a real power cut" tue village had been off all day and it was dark dark ... he took his big torch for grandma to borrow goodness knows what the power grid support staff thought when little man appeared in his just like dad's child's high Vis work coat, head torch and hand torch with dad behind with lanterns and other kit

Makes life easy if they know what to expect and what they need to do they don't cling to you like a barnacle when your trying to react to a incident

[Arzosah]

However,when I removed the stoves ,and replaced them with electric versions ( they are brilliant by the way) I insisted we had a mobile gas heater ,and an adequate supply of gas. Also I sorted a pipe input into the living room with a removable weather cover for diesel heating if it really goes wrong! As it was I went to the workshop and fetched the gas heater. It’s covered and stood on a sack barrow ready to wheel in.So I did.I’ve taught Mrs J how to connect and ignite,and after putting on the hearth,she did. It was bang on! Lovely and warm. As it happened,we went to bed after a couple of hours ( nice warm Winter bedding ) and then the power came on by morning or so.

So that’s it for now. I’m still alive at this point.

I love all that forethought, jansman, it being sat ready on a sack barrow and all that. And I'm very glad you're still alive but horrified at what you're having to go through, you and mrs j both. You've turned it into brilliant tips on the hospital bag, thank you.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Jansman any gas refill stations locally ? Would a safefill or gas bank refillable Kevlar bottle be a bit easier for you/ your wife to move about assuming someone can initially help her refill it cheaper per fill than calor too by about 50%

[GeeGee]

Glad you're still here Jansman you seem to be getting well adapted to the long hours at hospitals a lot of what I have learned is from what you have posted..and how we are surviving now ..and yes those gym bags are great for doubling up loads of pockets in them ..
Good luck next week ...

[jansman]

Jansman any gas refill stations locally ? Would a safefill or gas bank refillable Kevlar bottle be a bit easier for you/ your wife to move about assuming someone can initially help her refill it cheaper per fill than calor too by about 50%

In the next village we have an old fashioned ironmonger who is a supplier and a garage in our village. Nice and simple. The heater is there for emergency only,and that emergency cover worked!

[jansman]

Glad you're still here Jansman you seem to be getting well adapted to the long hours at hospitals a lot of what I have learned is from what you have posted..and how we are surviving now ..and yes those gym bags are great for doubling up loads of pockets in them ..
Good luck next week ...

You know! Best wishes and luck to you and H.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Jansman any gas refill stations locally ? Would a safefill or gas bank refillable Kevlar bottle be a bit easier for you/ your wife to move about assuming someone can initially help her refill it cheaper per fill than calor too by about 50%

In the next village we have an old fashioned ironmonger who is a supplier and a garage in our village. Nice and simple. The heater is there for emergency only,and that emergency cover worked!

Perfect ! There's nothing like that in town all gone due to the likes of Screwfix/B&Q / Toolstation .... we've a marina/ boat yard which stocks some obscure stuff and red diesel used to be 4 calor agents in town now thete is just the boat yard they all keep switching suppliers so expect you to stump up a new deposit every time they switch

last summer looking for a refill for a calor patio gas bottle I ended up in a little village 15 miles away in a old school ironmongery/ DIY general stores I was in heaven the wife had to drag me out before i spent the household budget bon random shiny things and gardening stuff for the allotment

[jansman]

Jansman any gas refill stations locally ? Would a safefill or gas bank refillable Kevlar bottle be a bit easier for you/ your wife to move about assuming someone can initially help her refill it cheaper per fill than calor too by about 50%

In the next village we have an old fashioned ironmonger who is a supplier and a garage in our village. Nice and simple. The heater is there for emergency only,and that emergency cover worked!

Perfect ! There's nothing like that in town all gone due to the likes of Screwfix/B&Q / Toolstation .... we've a marina/ boat yard which stocks some obscure stuff and red diesel used to be 4 calor agents in town now thete is just the boat yard they all keep switching suppliers so expect you to stump up a new deposit every time they switch

last summer looking for a refill for a calor patio gas bottle I ended up in a little village 15 miles away in a old school ironmongery/ DIY general stores I was in heaven the wife had to drag me out before i spent the household budget bon random shiny things and gardening stuff for the allotment

The ironmonger sells everything,and if he ain’t got it ,it’s there in the morning! I had a shower switch ( pull cord) and got one from bandq because we were there. Cr@p! Got me money back. Went to John and for the same price got a heavy,obviously better one. Done!

[Medusa]

A bit of a thought here, we were plagued by the inlaws and their never ending issues with light bulbs going, we eventually replaced the whole lot with LED's but never quite knew whether they were bayonet bulbs, screw ins, small or large fittings. Now we have sold their house and they are well looked after elsewhere we thought we had escaped the never ending task of replacing bulbs and now my Dad has started. Same thing, old style bulbs, different in every room and some of the fittings are siezed. We have replaced the last two with LED's but need to go round the whole house and make a list of the fittings now so that we can buy new for everywhere. It would me much easier if everyone had the same bulb fitting for every light. This one was on the landing, he swapped it with another bulb from the hallway and was up the ladders, not wise at almost 85 and I have given him a bit of a telling off tonight. Standardise your lights folks, it makes it so much easier.