If you’re like me, medical concerns, we were having multiple appointments a week for months on end. Needless to say, I burned out in “going to see the doctor.”
But medical needs are not to be ignored. So while we’re discussing emergency preparedness, medical preparedness is one of those really important categories.
Just imagine, you have a throbbing tooth. It’s something you’ve ignored for months. You do have medical benefits right now – even dental ones – but you don’t feel like figuring out what is wrong with your tooth. Therefore you continue to ignore the pain that comes and goes as you eat hot or cold foods.
Now flash forward months down the road. Company layoffs ripple through the corporation. And now suddenly, you are one of the individuals who have been hit by your company’s downsizing. Not only are you without a job, but now your tooth is aching even more. But now you don’t have dental benefits to offset the expensive root canal you can no longer avoid!
This is just one scenario why it is advisable that while you are looking at emergency preparedness issues, medical preparedness should be one of those items discussed.
Thus, it is important that you get in the habit of taking care of your medical needs and those of your family. Remember, preparedness is not a one-time event; it is a lifestyle – even when it comes to physical preparedness.
Be proactive. Think in advance. Take advantage of your company’s mail-order pharmacy program, if it is available. That way you’ll at least have three months of medications on hand, rather than just the usual 30 days.
Remember, emergencies are rarely foreseen. That is why it is important that we plan ahead. We never know what kind of upheaval can happen in our communities. Nothing is worse than putting off a med refill, just to find that now the stores are closed because of an enormous storm that blew through.
When we are prepared, we fear less. We have a more general sense of ease. And although we do not seek difficult times, if they do come our way, being prepared helps us handle them in better fashion. And if we have children, it is even more urgent that we are ready for most, if not all, medical needs.
Indeed, if you’re like me, medical appointments are not your favorite activity. But medical needs are not to be ignored. So remember in your emergency preparedness plans, medical preparedness needs to be one of those really important included categories.
