MOTHER NATURE

Hello everyone,
First I am sorry for the delay in blogs . I am a graduate student , nurse , mom, and many other hats that keep me from getting the posts done.
Adding to our new title are natural disaster survivors.

NO ONE on our block died and thank GOD for that!
I want to talk about being prepared for the worst.

On 4-18-2013 we had the worst flood we've ever seen. The rapidly rising fast moving water was dangerous caught us off guard and any plan we thought we had failed.

Persons with health conditions are at the greatest rsik during disasters. Immobility , requiring   medcaitions , breathing difficulties and conditions realted to Sickle Cell Anemia WILL need special attention.
We assisted our new family with an expectant mother and little boy, we helped save cars, pets and then after sand bagging my husbadn helped the Fire Dept complete another rescue our other neighbor can not walk and the water was already 7-8 feet to their home. The fire men borrowed a paddle boat tethered lines and got him. My husband drove him in our garden cart with the tractor to safety.

After we helped our neighbors my BIG plan was to grab Marqus and a bag of supplies and go out our back door uphill to dry land , that did not happen!

After the boat rescue of my neighbor , we smelled gas Marqus was slummped in a chair slightly blue after he preared his small bag. OUR house is OXYGEN RICH  with a M60 tank and 3 concentrators.

My best freinds had just lost their entire home and they were now helping us , we all helped each other THE POWER OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT!!
NOW we had to throw together a suitcase of IVs , meds supplies for his central line and other essentials , I have ashtma  so that meant we needed the nebulizer etc etc,

ALL I could think of was EXPLOSION and get this O2 tank out of the house and up the hill.


I pushed the life line and the divers returned to us witha motor boat to get Marqus. We evacuated to Benedictine University where the Red Cross set up temporary shelter then a hotel.

We are lucky because we still have a roof over our head but the clean up and fianacial losses are great.
During clean up we all helped each other and fought off scavengers picking though our wet , fithy stuff on the curb , stealing and preying on our tradgey like vultures. IT WAS A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES!!!!  There was raw sewage on many things our basement was full of it and folks took that awful stuff not just metal.
10 days later the bulldozers and semis came to pick up the trash. The Smell was sick!
The Village communications broke down and THANK YOU to BOY SCOUT TROOP 108 and THE LISLE CARES FB page for  information and help.THANK YOU TO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT ! for tying themselves to a paddle boat to rescue our neighbor and coming right back for Marqus and the rest of the people that were trapped.

TROOP 108  is a blessing they saw our needs and have helped ever since!!

Well I hope to post information that can help you in a disaster.
Despite our best plans Mother nature is unpredictible !

Go to The American Red Cross and FEMA web pages and check out the information it can save your life.

PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS  PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!

A always thank you for listening and I promise to try and update this more often.
LUV MOM
Francesca Valentine  RN BSN MSN Candidiate Benedictine University  , SCA parent