From CIDRAP:One Family's Experience in Preparing for a Pandemic

This is from CIDRAP; it’s an interview with one of the Flu Wiki crowdsourcers who was participating with the Friday meeting via webinar:

One family's experience

For Amy Bates Grant, preparing for a pandemic has been a process since 2006.

"I've learned everything that I could about pandemics," said the mother of two who lives outside Portland, Ore.

Grant said she used resources such as the Flu Wiki forum to learn how an influenza pandemic might affect her and her family, how to reduce exposure, and how she would cope if family members were infected.

"I'm not a nurse. I don't have a medical background. I've done a lot of reading on home healthcare," she said. It's important to know what symptoms require immediate medical attention and what can be handled at home to avoid trips to the doctor at a time when the health system is likely to be overwhelmed, she added.

Grant has also been collecting essentials, such as easy-to-prepare meals, thermometers for each person, gloves, face masks, and pain relief medication. All the family members know where everything is and what needs to be done, Grant said.

"It's given us the resiliency to face things a lot more easily," she said.

Grant acknowledges that the cost of preparing is a concern for some people, which is why she recommends getting what's needed over time.

"Every week when I go shopping, I'll pick up a few cans of soup. I didn't want to go into debt doing this. Grant said. "I don't recommend people run out and buy a bunch of stuff."

Grant said families should consider what they need and see what they already have that may be useful. Creativity and resourcefulness can go a long way. For instance, Grant said she found 55-gallon storage drums for $5 from a local food storage business that she is using to store water. She has learned how to create a makeshift toilet for an isolation sick room using a toilet seat, a bucket, and cat litter.

"If you're willing to think, there are low-cost options out there," she said.

Grant has also been talking to others in her community about how to get ready for a pandemic. She serves on the board of the ReadyMoms Alliance, an organization of volunteers who educate the public about influenza preparedness.

"If my community isn't prepared, it doesn't do me a whole lot of good," Grant said, noting that everyone needs to understand the disruptions that are likely to occur. Parents of school-aged kids, for instance, need to think about what will happen if schools close for a long time.

If different segments of the community are even a bit more prepared and resilient, it may make a big difference in reducing the impact of the pandemic and in delaying people's exposure to infection, she said.

Even a small amount of preparation is worthwhile. "Any preparation is better than no preparation," Grant said, adding that families who can prepare should do so. "I would rather that our limited public resources focus on those who cannot prepare."

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/jun3009personprep-pp.html