🟠🟠 READ THIS AND SHARE THIS 🟠🟠
By: Erin Toberman
Tags: Corona, Plans, Planning, Virus, Emergency

🟠🟠 READ THIS AND SHARE THIS 🟠🟠

IF YOU DID NOT WATCH MY VIDEO on FB…Read this. EVERY WORD and then go back and watch my video because I was much more pleasant this morning. Since, in my opinion, we have received VERY LITTLE actionable guidance, I am going to give you some very important things to get done between now and the end of the day on TUESDAY, March 17!!! Got it? Get a piece of paper and make a list. I’m going to spell it out bluntly because you are grown ass people and you can handle some straight truth talk. I’m giving you a to-do list because I care about you and I want you to be more prepared than you are. Let’s do this!!! 💪🏼

. . 🦠🦠🦠 #COVID_19 🦠🦠🦠

Leaders must MODEL the behavior they wish to see. All of them. They haven’t and that’s why community behavior isn’t changing. Because most of the country thinks this is something less impactful than the flu, no one really understands what the next three to six months will be like. Don’t panic but BE PREPARED and make some written down PLANS!

It’s incredibly discouraging and disappointing that the world’s largest medical center does not seem to have any kind of plan, leadership and authority for it’s hometown, Houston, let alone the country. If Mayor Sylvester Tuner tweets one more time about shopping for too many items I may throw my shoe at him. HPD Chief Art Acevedo is using social media to tell us not to flush wet wipes. 🙄 All of the information coming from Harris County Judge Lina Hildago is stale and redundant. Press releases keep telling us about symptoms but there are no checklists. There have been no suggested specific personal health plan guidance. No one has presented a list of suggested over the counter medication to have in your house and how much for how many people. There has been no suggested, helpful information about purchasing inexpensive medical monitors for your home, like a $20 blood oxygen reader which will give you the ability to provide accurate, diagnostic medical information (over the phone) about your real time lung health. There has been no specific guidance for medical supply items people might already possess like people who have CPAP machines, portable oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators in their homes. There has been ZERO guidance for people who are disabled or medically fragile, other than everyone needs to isolate and call their doctor. 😡

People need information, specific instructions with timelines and, like an incoming hurricane, day by day, then, hour by hour, real time assessments of where to go, who to call, when the next update is, what EXACTLY to anticipate. They need to know where to find resources and how to get those resources.

We have gotten so used to watching hurricanes on a map and having Frank Billingsley telling us exactly what to anticipate that we have no idea what we are supposed to be watching to forecast what is about to happen. We don’t know when landfall is anticipated to happen and how we can best protect ourselves, our families, our loved ones and our communities from this storm with no radar.

We DO NOT understand the words that have little to no meaning to us like social distancing and self-quarantine. We DO NOT truly understand why surgical hygiene really does change the possibility of the hurricane hitting you at full force or wobbling a few streets over. We are not prepared because we have never done this before. We are riding these rapids with no map and no real idea of what twists and turns and waterfalls that await us.

I believe you should be very, very, very concerned. Like someone just told you that you had cancer kind of concerned. Everyone has already hurricane panicked and bought stuff. Right now everyone is drinking Coronas and laughing about they fact that not enough people you personally know that have gotten sick and died. You really don’t believe it and it’s really hard to believe it so it’s really tempting to blow it off and it’s not going to be that bad. Your “Texans always come together” mantra isn’t going to cut it for this storm. You are going to take this very seriously and start making some very detailed, short and long term critical plans.

Sober up and start to study for this test. Your plans and decisions now might save your life or someone in your immediate circle.

PLAN ON GETTING SICK. Plan on it. Plan on getting kinda sick, pretty sick and really sick. No one, NO ONE, can tell you with absolute certainty that you will NOT be one of the 20% who get really sick. You need to plan for that. Plan for the worst case scenario so that you do not have to panic. If you plan, you will be better prepared to make make quick, hard decisions with some confidence in your decisions.

You need to TALK through your plans..out loud…with your family and trusted support circle.

Be aware that there hasn’t been any guidance about when to call your doctor, when to head to an emergency room and when to call 911. There hasn’t been any guidance about the use of Urgent Care facilities. You need to know when and why you need to make those decisions.

There hasn’t been guidance about specific paperwork to complete or your logistics contingency planning for minor children. What is your plan for little kids who might be left unattended if a single parent or senior guardian goes into the hospital? Preparing HIPPA medical release forms and minor child medical care forms is something you can do RIGHT NOW. Think about all of the things you would want and need to be admitted, by ambulance, in a emergency to a hospital. Plan to be unconscious or unable to provide verbal information that only you know. PLAN.

Families should be updating emergency contacts with each other. WRITE DOWN PHONE NUMBERS. You need to know full names, date of birth, blood type and such. Who are your trusted next door neighbors or emergency friend contacts? Write down those names, addresses and contact info. You may have family who need to come into town and you will want them to reach out to your tribe.

Who has access to your house and who has keys and security system codes? Some seniors should complete temporary power of attorney forms now and update wills and make plans for who will be their medical decision makers. People with kids should have backups for help if both parents are in the hospital.

People need to figure out their plans for their pets. If you have a pet you need a plan. And, that plan needs a backup plan. What happens with the pet? How will payment work? What’s the vet info and print out shot records. Complete a pet care schedule or where your pet should be boarded, if there is availability. Write down the name of these people and their contact information so someone can help you take care of your pet. Don’t worry about plants. Fish? Maybe. Pets? Definitely!

People need to write down their passwords to their phones and online accounts (including email) for one trusted family member, or lawyer, or put this information in a secret, accessible place in the house. Tell someone where to find that information. There is NOTHING worse than needing urgent information about a family member and not being able to figure out how to obtain it because you never thought about the fact you might need it. Clean up your dirty photos, porn history and anything you don’t want found in your house or online. Don’t be messy.

Write down social security numbers, birthdates, copy insurance cards and make sure there is a way to pay out of pocket costs that may come up. There has been no firm resolution on who is covering what costs. People with very high family deductibles may face difficulty getting treatment at preferred hospitals if they can’t meet the up front deductible. Made a list of your preferred hospitals. Call and make sure your insurance will cover the costs of being admitted. Many insurance plans changed medical providers at the beginning of the year.

Have a credit card with available credit. Get some cash. We have a budget for all three of us and I have cash in small bills in the event we need to pay for things while we are ill or hospitalized.

Call your lawyer, call your doctor(s), call your mortgage company and have a plan. Do this stuff now while there is still some calm and you can think things through instead of reacting to everything. Is your doctor going to set up tele-medicine? Do you remember how to access your patient portals with all of your doctors so you can effectively use those platforms? Log in. Download the app. Write down the password. HAVE a written or printed list of your prescription medications for each family member. Your pharmacy can print that off. You will need the name and address of your pharmacy and a detailed list of medications and dosages you are currently taking. Write down your estimated height and weight. Know and write down if you have been medically diagnosed with a preexisting condition, what it is, what your brief history is and any other helpful information that doctors always ask like…tell me about surgeries. Are you allergic to any medications or any foods or latex? When was your last period? When was your last…whatever information is important that they always ask but you haven’t sat down and thought about it. Write down those answers. Do you smoke, and if so, how much? BE HONEST. If you quit smoking when did you start when did you stop and how much did you smoke. How much do you you drink? Be honest. They need to know how your liver and pancreas are doing. Have you ever had kindney problems? Kidney stone? Still have your gall bladder and appendix?

They will want to know ALL about your lung health and history. Have you ever had bronchitis? When and how many times? Have you ever had pneumonia? When and what type? What where your symptoms, how long did it last and what medical treatment did you receive that got you better? Do you have any major organ history to share? Heart disease? Heart catheters? Bypass surgery? Have you ever been diagnosed with cancer? What kind and what was your medical treatment? Did it include chemo? What kind (be specific) and did it include radiation. When did you hit menopause and what medications, if any, did you take for hormone replacement? Did you have your hip replaced? Who did it? Do you have any metal in your body? Where? Why? MRIs and metal is an absolute NO-NO!

After you write down all of your stuff, now write down all of the same answers for every person in your household. For kids, write down the names of friends, their telephone numbers, parent information and why they know each other. Write down important stuff about your kid like favorite food, must have toy, doll or blanket. Foods they will eat and food they won’t. Write down routines and daily rituals. Do they say prayers? Do they have a favorite book? What are the nicknames? What don’t they like at all…like tickling, scary movies, sensory objections. Are they allergic to bee stings? Do they sunburn easily? Are there any rules or “must do” that you need to tell someone if they are watching your kid for a week.

ALL THE STUFF. WRITE IT DOWN. A separate folder for each human and pet in your household. Then, make others folders of information you have that you will need to help your immediate or extended family make informed decisions or provide important information. HIPPA laws are going to be incredibly frustrating, so, information you can share in advance for your healthcare plan. or caregiving of others in your responsibility will make everything easier. Promise.

Decide NOW who the deciders are and then who the backup deciders are. Don’t make it dramatic just make a decision. Don’t argue about what people want or should want. Ask them and honor their choices. Be true to your word and agreements. If you aren’t comfortable being a decider, say NO, upfront. Let people make plans around you. You will be fine and don’t take these decisions personally, sometimes your vote isn’t requested. Don’t hold resentments. Suck it up and move forward. Stay in your lane.

Have personal self-care plans. Start making a schedule for these long days ahead so they won’t blend together. Try not to get your days and nights confused. Get good rest. Eat as nutritiously as you can, starting tomorrow, and every day after that. Curb or stop any alcohol use. Seriously. Wine and booze will not reduce stress or help you make better decisions. Learn how to meditate, do yoga, stretch or do live online workouts. Always be ready to drive…you need to be sober to do that.

Be sure you are current on your meds. Make it a PRIORITY to take one or two 30-minute walks outside every day. Get fresh aid daily. Exercise your healthy lungs so they are strong and fit and ready to fight. Be ready to fight for your health. This virus will be a great equalizer. You cannot purchase good health. You must guard your health fiercely. Guard your lung health as fiercely as you protect yourself and your family from harm. Be mentally prepared to face this head on and win. Be focused. Be absolutely determined and POSITIVE that nothing will compromise you or your family’s health.

Again, assume you ARE going to catch this virus. There is a higher probability that you WILL catch this virus than not. The casino holds the greater odds on this one. Don’t bet against the house. This is a bet you do not want to lose.

You have to mentally prepare. You have physically prepare. You need to focus on being as healthy as absolutely possible. You need to go into these next three to six months with as much energy as your mind and body posseses. You WILL need that energy and good health to help you power through the virus cycle. Your ENTIRE goal is to protect the health of your lungs…with every ounce of focus and determination you can manage for the next few months. YOU NEED TO DECIDE THAT COVID-19 IS COMING TO YOUR HOUSE AND COMING FOR YOU AND IT WILL NOT DEFEAT YOU! You always want to know what’s coming and be prepared. If you KNEW you were going to get cancer, what would you do to prepare you mind and body to fight?

This isn’t a vacation. Things won’t get back to normal soon, if ever. You don’t have time or energy to whine, complain or blame other people. This is serious adult time and you need to pull your act together and focus.

This is going to be a dramatic lifestyle change for everyone. You will need to have plans in place so that you have the mental space to address problems we can’t even anticipate. You will need to be clear headed, calm, prepared and ready to make decisions quickly and with confidence. You need to be your favorite superhero. You are your own Batman. You can do this.

In my opinion, we DO NOT have any leaders or media providing this type of specific guidance. That’s why people have loaded up their houses with toilet paper, water and box wine and everyone is now waiting for the hurricane to arrive. This is normally the calm before the storm. The time when we normally have some pre-hurricane fun. There is no hurricane. This will not be fun. DO NOT waste your time and your precious energy.

I would give anything for different leadership right now. Anything. But, it is what it is and you will have be be in charge of your own personal emergency plan. DO NOT PANIC…PREPARE, PLAN and then REVIEW YOUR PLANS. The pandemic is coming and like a local lady says, there’s no one coming.

Kindness matters. Be kind to yourself, your family and your community. Be quick to forgive. Be ready to be flexible. No one has been through this before so NO ONE knows exactly what they are doing and what is going to happen. Mistakes are going to be made. Information will be complicated. You can only control your actions and reactions. Guard your energy fiercely and maintain healthy boundaries.

This is going to be a marathon, a long and sometimes exhausting marathon. We cannot give up on ourselves or each other. Find your tribe. Speak hard truths. Watch your back and watch out for others when you are able. Check in with each other and be honest. Ask for help before it’s a crisis.

Keep a journal of some sort. This is going to be part of your family history so don’t forget to capture your experiences.

You are strong and smart and wise and determined and now you need to get ready. Be a grown up. Be ready to steer this ship through this storm. And, don’t forget to make a playlist that will keep you going even when you want to stop. Rest when you are tired but don’t stop. I’ll be here cheering you on because you are important to me and I care about you.

It’s ALWAYS Cool To Be Kind! #c2bk

Erin 🐝✌🏼

🔶🔶🔶 IMPORTANT FORMS 🔶🔶🔶

HIPPA Medical Information Release Form: https://eforms.com/images/2017/09/Texas-HIPAA-Medical-Release-Form.pdf

General consent for medical care: https://texaslawhelp.org/sites/default/files/consenttomedicaltreatment.pdf

Family plan checklist: https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/covid19_checklist-individuals-families.pdf