Free Diabetic Supplies

These are trying times throughout the world.  Every time you turn on the TV, there is some sort of news bulletin of wars, bombs, fighting and destruction whether in far away counties or in local neighborhoods.  Add to that natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes and it is impossible to escape some sort of emergency at the most unexpected time.  In fact, even if such an emergency happens to you or your family once in a lifetime, it is more than enough.

Most of us think it will happen to someone else and not us, and most of us are right most of the time.  However, if an emergency does happen to us, it is essential that we are prepared.

I can speak from experience.  I live in an area that rarely gets snow.  I happen to have high blood pressure that is usually controlled by medication.  With the right medication, my blood pressure stays stable.  Enter the unusual snow storm that left everyone surprised.  It was lovely and wonderful and happened during the holidays.  My problem: I didn’t have an emergency kit.  I ran out of medication and had to get through Christmas Eve, Christmas and two more days of snow and ended up in the hospital with blood pressure of 205/118.  Normal is about 120/80.  They were afraid I was going to have a stroke.  With an I V and the right medication my blood pressure went down.  As soon as I felt better I put a week’s amount of blood pressure medication in my emergency kit which also has written medical information, insurance papers and other important information in it.  It is set up so that I can grab it in an emergency and walk out the door.

My emergency is not unique.  My mother battled with diabetes for years, taking several shots of insulin every day.  She loved to travel, and on one trip overseas she brought enough insulin and syringes for the exact amount of days she would be gone, plus one.  It was good thinking to take a little extra with her, except she got stuck overseas for four extra days due to a flight mishap.  She ended up going to the hospital in a country where she didn’t speak the language and was finally able to get the medication and supplies she needed.

The moral of the story it that we never know what type of emergency could come our way so it is important to get copies of important paperwork, sentimental or other valuable items and at least a week’s supply of medication and put them in a duffel bag or container that will be easy to grab if you need to get to it suddenly.

There’s a saying that if you plan for an emergency it probably won’t come.  By gathering what you need in advance you might never need to use your supply and you just might be avoiding an emergency.