Disclaimer: While this post comes from my personal experience, I’m happy to say that all is good, and our household is on the mend. We were also lucky that our situation was not serious. Every case will be different and you absolutely need to follow the advice of your own physician based on your own situation.
The last two weeks have got me thinking. We often talk about emergency preparedness, but no one ever really talks about “disruption.”
COVID-19 has us all on edge, but we have been in the midst of it for so long, that we are feeling pretty on top of things. We have our masks, we hand-sanitize, wash our hands constantly, and we all know about social distancing. All that said, the numbers are going up again, so the likelihood that you will be exposed goes up as well.
But are you prepared for what happens if you do get it, or if you are exposed? Or if a member of your family is exposed?
If you are exposed, you are supposed to self-quarantine for 14-days. If you test positive, but others in your family/household have not, you are supposed to isolate for at least 10-days, while the rest of the family/household will be quarantined.
So, would your family be prepared? Here is how we handled it, and what we learned.
Be Prepared to Move to Another Part of Your Home
I was lucky enough to be able to move into our spare room for Hubby’s isolation period. If you don’t have a spare room, ask yourself where you would go if you needed to have one family member in isolation. Do you have blankets, pillows, sheets handy? Do you have things like an alarm clock, or electronic chargers handy; or do you need an extension cord?
Have a Back Stock; Be Prepared to Order Online
If you can’t leave, you can’t shop. So things like groceries and toiletries will need to be brought in. Or, you may need to rely on what you have for a period of time.
Having a back-stock of essentials is super helpful. And let’s face it, with the uncertainty of 2020, there is no better time to think about this. Be strategic with building your backstock. You don’t need to build it up in one shopping trip. Each time you grocery shop buy an extra one or two of the things you use all the time. Have a supply of non-perishable and simple to prepare foods like soups and other canned foods. And don’t forget the frozen veggies. When they are on sale I stock up, this way I know that I will have some frozen veggies if I need them in a pinch.
Ask yourself, do you know the best way to get groceries delivered? Does your grocery store deliver? Or do you need to use a third-party service? Maybe you will need to have a friend do it for you. Regardless of the method, know in advance what you need to do.
Gather Some Helpful Supplies
If you are the care-taker, you are going to need to have some supplies handy. We set up a little care station outside of the isolation bedroom with masks, hand sanitizer, and lysol. This made it easier to sanitize every time we went into the bedroom. Awkward…yes! Necessary…absolutely!
A few other things that we found handy: a tray for carrying food and drinks back and forth; a small table and chair that we put in the bedroom for an alternative to the bed.
Last but not least, be willing to accept the kindness of others. If someone close to you is offering help, groceries, or a meal, allow yourself to just say yes.
If you are lucky, you won’t need any of this advice. But, if you do happen to find yourself in this situation you will be thankful that you thought about being prepared for disruption.
