Maybe your grandma and grandpa have long since passed away, maybe you have parents in their old age, this post also applies to YOU. Do they have SHTF plans? Probably not. Do you have SHTF plans for them? If you want them to live - you’d better. Oh right, they’re very old, huh? They’re in a nursing home and the nursing home will take care of matters - right? Wrong.
Did you see this article on the nursing home in New Orleans that let everyone DIE (drown) when Katrina hit? Hell, even assuming the owners of the nursing home are reputable and have a high ethical standard, chances are extremely high they’re just like everyone else - no STHF plans. Yes, some places now have disaster preparedness plans in place, but I recall one study by some company (can’t remember exactly) that found some nursing homes planned on sending people to one particular location if SHTF. The catch was, they also found virtually every other nursing home in the area had the SAME PLAN, meaning the identified “safe spot” would not be able to meet the sudden influx of people. Poor planning. What’s more, why do you think the underpaid staff at the nursing home are even going to show up for work when bird flu hits? You think they’ll want to hang around sick old people for 8 bucks an hour when avian flu is knocking people out? I don’t think so. They’ll stay home and watch over their own parents or children. Can you blame them?
Here are some TETOWAWKI planning techniques for older party peeps:
- Have a few months worth of personal supplies at your SHTF safe haven.
Chances are this is your own home. Devote a shelf in the basement to
personal care needs the older folks might need. Got Depends? Did you save their old eye glasses
rather than throw them out? Spare hearing aid batteries? Oxygen tanks? - Store “feel good” stuff they may need to calm down. Some seniors just love a particular candy or food.
- God meds? You’ll likely need them. Doctors may be more willing to give an extra bottle of medication as backup for seniors than they may to someone else. When prescriptions are filled through mail order options, they usually come in larger quantities.
- Got a communication plan? What if something happens to YOU? Does your loved one know who to contact? Is there someone that lives out-of-state who can act as the communication point for the family if things go from bad to worse?
- Pet planning - it’s amazing how many older folks are tied to their pets. Pets become one of the family, and in many cases people refuse to leave dangerous situations if leaving means Fido can’t come. You may need pet plans. If bringing the pet isn’t an option, and it’s TEOTWAWKI, you could also field dress “mittens” before packing up. I’ve never eaten cat, but I suspect it’s okay with a little gravy.
- Medical devices - I’m thinking a wheelchair, crutches, etc. You may be able to find used ones really cheap. Check Craig’s list and other places. You might even find them free. If storage space isn’t an issue, it may be beneficial to have items like these on hand regardless of grandma plans.
If you’ve got a relative with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, post-SHTF planning for these people won’t be easy - at all. Unfortunately if you don’t step up to take care of them in a really bad situation, chances are no one
will. Perhaps you WON’T be able to care for them. It all depends on the situation and everything is relative (pun intended). Doomsday won’t be pretty. Prepare now.
- Ranger Man
BTW: Tomorrow is Saturday and it’ll be another non-post day. I kinda liked not having to post last Saturday. It gave me a chance to build up a couple posts for the coming week, so I’m not scrambling last minute when something comes up in the evening or morning. Check back bright and early Sunday morning for MORE TEOTWAWKI madness.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of grandma. Just because she’s in a wheelchair doesn’t mean she can’t be positioned as a sentry.
8 responses so far ↓
1 KC // Apr 4, 2008 at 5:05 am
Ranger Man,
Stocking up for the elderly is by far easier said than done. Unless the potential survivalist, has literally the storage space and the resources of ‘Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders’ at their immediate disposal, this could very well be the ‘Gordian Knot’ that undoes a great many people in the clutch. Knowing several people who work in elderly care, it’s often mentioned that during events like the recent U.S. Truckers ‘Slowdown’ of two days ago, can quickly run a elderly care facility into the ground, due to a lack of consumable supplies, especially medical equipment & supply, which are used at a expotential rate when bad conditions occur. A potential solution would be like you’ve stated, would be to start small and gather the above supplies over a period of time, so that if TEOTWAWKI doesn’t start next week or next year, one has provided themselves with a little breathing room in the interium to stock up for the day when they have to get ‘ole Aunt Saddie’ away from ‘Shaddy Acres’ to the safe location, to live out her days somewhat peacefully rather than having to suffer at the hands of the uncaring/unwilling rather quickly after events go south…
2 Richard // Apr 4, 2008 at 7:56 am
A lot of us Generation X types are spread out long distances away from where our elderly parents live. Jobs and education are the key drivers, although lots of selfish parents (especially Boomers and Silent) chose to retire in places like Florida, Arizona, or New Mexico thousands of miles away from their kids.
In my case, my dad’s 2000 miles away and my wife’s parents are 8000 miles away in another country. The reality is that there is nothing we can do for them and if TEOTWAWKI occurs, we will lose communications (probably forever) with them. All I can do is keep a little extra food just in case TSHTF occurs on one of the days when one of them is visiting us.
3 anna // Apr 4, 2008 at 11:17 am
The elderly? Man, I’m still gulping at the idea of having my NOT-elderly mother coming over. She’s deaf as a post (spends 90% of her time yelling, hence my children yell), cantakerous for the fun of it (drives people up the wall on purpose), and knows everything. She’s storing her travel trailer at my place, and has announced that if SHTF, she’s simply coming to eat my supplies. And she’s bringing my newly divorced (and helpless/hopeless) sister and HER three screaming brats (three under 3 years old… joy.) Nevermind I’ve got four little ones of my own. I may have to kill off relatives just to survive. Try *that* thought on for size, sometime!
As for the elderly, Hub n’ I discussed this in depth. My grandpa is in a home, but he’s where my mom got it ALL from, only worse. He’s decided to just let himself die, so bringing him home would be a total waste of food (and patience). Gawsh, that sounds uncharitable, but in SHTF, logic trumps generosity.
OTOH, my great, great Aunt Tilly (she’s 95) is in the same home (family founded, church funded, so it’s free to the residents)… and I’ll be going in after her. If I can make it across the second largest city in MI and back, that is. She’s human sunshine, albeit older than dirt. Oi, just what we’ll need, right? Well, y’do what y’gotta do.
There’s a DIY bike cart plan made of conduit and plywood ($30 in supplies) that’s supposed to hold up to 200lbs. It’d be a bitch n’ a half to pedal uphill, but I’m hoping to make two of these carts, just in case. I’ve got the link, somewhere… let’s see…
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-cargo-trailer–200-lb-capacity%2c-%2430-for-pa/
Something to consider if you’ve gotta go fetch someone elderly. Or might potentially have to travel with a seven year old and six children under four. ((I might have to shoot ME, in retrospect.))
4 gott_cha // Apr 4, 2008 at 5:08 pm
hell’s bell’s, in my family i am the “elderly”, but not a single one hears what im saying,..but be dayum sure they will all arrive on my doorstep for me and my angel to have to try and feed come TEOTWAWKI,…not one can hunt or fish or even cook,…got a cpl son in-laws that cant even change a friggin tire,…for years ive tried to warn and educate them,……they all are caught up in the newest TV,..cell phone or new “ride”….
I may have to cull a few when that day comes!
5 tweell // Apr 4, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I have plans, but there is only so much that can be done. My plans for Dad are necessarily only short term - he’s only around until the insulin runs out, and that’s only a few weeks no matter what. I can keep a mini-refrigerator going, but the stuff is just too perishable even so.
I have a wheelchair and other supplies for him, and will be picking his brain(more); he survived the Depression and WWII. Mom is in better shape and her meds are minimal (and cheap), so she’s taken care of.
Depending on the situation, I may be bringing my supplies to my parents’ place. They’re yellow on food and firearms, but have more water, room and general hardware (a very nice grain mill, for example).
If either goes on watch, they get a teenager with them. They’ve been known to nod off from time to time, and it’s another learning opportunity as well.
If you need a cold, hard reason to take care of your folks, here is mine: they made it through the last SHTF. I read, and try different things, but my folks know from experience what worked. That’s a gold mine of information I am not about to pass up.
6 noisynick // Apr 5, 2008 at 6:29 am
The old and the young in a SHTF scenario end up as colateral damge. I think to prepare the best you can for them is great………
But the best thing to prepare is yourself mentally and emotionally for what coudl be some very Horrific sites and Issues.
In the military theres theres a difference between green troops and battle hardened troops and its not about how well you shoot your weapons although a small part is.
Its about the death and destruction of the battlefield scenario the unanswered questions that come to mind, and the grizzly site and sounds that assult your senses.
Even trained and prepared personnell lose their perspective and do really stupid things.
So think these things thru now before they come to pass how will you dispose of a love one, how much suffering will you allow them to indure before you pull the plug, so too speak.
Let reason and judgement be your guide thru this because someone has to live make up your mind its gonna be you at all costs.
The survivors of a SHTF scenario will not always be the most prepared but oftentimes the most mentally and physically tough………………….
7 Bob A Hokenuts the Armorer // Apr 5, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I’m not so sure I could care for my grandmother if SHTF. Depends on her short term memory.
She might be better off if left at home with a box of chocolates, a rotary telephone, a few jars of spam, and a few hand grenades.
The rigors of a post SHTF world would not fare well for the elderly. It’s a young man’s sport.
8 Bill // Apr 7, 2008 at 8:07 am
It all depends on how bad off your grandma/pa is.
Most people who now require nursing home care will not be ones you can easily take care of at home.
My mom never had any acute medical needs, but was in a nursing home simply because her dementia had advanced to the point she needed to be fed and cleaned by another.
It took *hours* to feed her enough pureed food, small bite by small bite, to keep her alive.
Even something as simple as hand feeding is unlikely to succeed at home in a TEOTWAWKI situation (much less keeping her turned enough that she wouldn’t develop pressure sores)
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