About

Safety and health seem to go hand in hand. This is an area that I am more focused on this year and I have tried to work all aspects of my health. I am wearing a face mask every day and so I started to work on my dental hygiene, but part of being healthy is also being prepared. I have a stoma and this year I noticed a shortage of gear for the first time. The COVID-19 Pandemic really took its toll on our economy and it showed me that we are not invincible and that bad thing can really happen when it comes to healthcare products. It turns out that up to 95% of all our products are imported and if another outbreak of COVID-19 happens or the election ends up causing countrywide riots that our supply system may end up shutting down partially again. That means that in order to stay safe I may have to fend for myself and not count on our current amazing just in time system.

The reason I am worried about this is because I saw in many locations that people were unable to receive their normal shipments of ostomy gear. This was due to a multitude of reasons and part of it was the civil unrest that took place for months during COVID-19. This was seen a form of protest, but in those locations, the local government let anarchist simply run wild and let felons free for months. They burned and attacked people and most local pharmacies. That was a strange thing to see, but my friends in those locations had no local supply of ostomy gear to go and get. Now, this was scary because in some of those locations shipping was simply stopped due to the civil unrest. That fact means that my friends were forced to live on their own for up to a month with no help or ostomy gear supply. It really was a scary time for them and the fact that the streets were not safe to leave.

This led me to think that keeping your body safe meant that being able to survive for an extended period of time with your own supplies in important. We all agreed that now we won't live without having 2 to 3 months' supplies on hand for our stoma's. It almost sounds silly but we saw our economy and supply chain fall apart overnight and our local governments were actually endorsing it. This means that we are simply on our own. Some of my friends moved and were able to do this. They realized that their local government was actually an enemy to their health. But some are not able to do this. They simply are stuck. So we are now all storing up enough seals, bags, and precut items to survive on our own. If pharmacies are shut down we are now our own local supply. And those of us that have more are going to supply those that don't. It is simply the fact now that times are different. We must take care of each other because no government is going to do it.

So think about your location. Know if you may be at high risk for this happening and prepare if you are. Be safe and be wise.