Dealing with off-grid emergencies and how to prepare
When I give talks about our life style, one of the more common questions is:
What do you do if you get hurt?
About a month ago I talked about off-grid health care and covered risk management. Please feel free to revisit that blog because there are some important information there regarding risk management and it answers the question.
The reality is, living off grid means that we don't have immediate access to emergency services.
Caution: What I am about to share may be disturbing to some individuals. I won't share gory pictures, but the one picture I will share will tell it all.
Yesterday my 23 year old son was cutting wood with a chain saw and cut his foot. Just so that everyone knows, he is fine. He missed the bone and tendons, so he only cut flesh and skin. He will heal up, but he learned an important lesson yesterday. Sometimes it does not matter how much mom or dad says something, people need to learn the hard way.
Suffice to say, I bet he will wear his safety gear now when he runs the chain saw. But this brings up an important point. We live over 30 miles away from any town with a medical trauma center. My wife and I have taken first aid and we were able to stop the bleeding and bandage him up. Because of our life style, we deal with the unexpected frequently, especially with the animals, so we don't panic or freeze like 90% of the people would do.
However, this panic / freezing reaction can be trained out by exposing oneself to the unexpected on a regular basis so that dealing with emergency issues becomes second nature. The animals really help us in that area. We have dealt with still born goats, two kids being delivered at the same time (two heads sticking out), hard deliveries, big puss balls, injured limbs, cuts, sick goats & chickens, bloating and even death. Slaughtering goats and chickens allows us to get used to the sight of blood, guts and tears. After ten plus years living off grid, there is not much we have not seen.
This has huge benefits for our own health as it allows us to be able to react intelligently and rationally when something does happen to the flesh of our spiritual brothers and sisters. Despite all our efforts, people still get hurt and now we can deal with it. As for me, if that happened to me, I would pay the hospital directly to patch me up or just do it myself. Either way, because I am off the grid, I refuse to accept any benefits. My son is still a citizen, so he got his treatment as a benefit. But for me, I would be on my own. But I also have over 50 years of experience to mitigate risks so that I don't lop off my limbs.
Like I said before, I chose to live and I want to have a good death. If that means bleeding out in the bush because of a chain saw accident, then so be it. I accept those risks with this life style.
My son is doing well today. As a result, I did not get any writing done yesterday. But his family stepped up to help him out and that is what family and clans are all about.
If we want to prepare ourselves for trauma, I recommend getting animals and stewarding them. They will teach you many skills and prepare you for the time where you may be confronted with a loved one who is seriously sick or injured. Help may not be near by. It may take hours or even days. So what are you going to do in the mean time? Best be prepared and stewarding animals is a fantastic way to prepare for those times. They are more than willing to help serve and teach us! That is their spiritual job. Avail oneself to the opportunity.
I know it helped us yesterday. Of that, I have no doubt! By the way, rubber boots are not appropriate for your feet when operating a chain saw. I recommend at least steel toes, steel shank, leather foot ware that goes partly up your leg. They also make chaps, face shields, ear muffs, leather gloves and other equipment to keep one safe.
Good to hear your son is OK. You can be assured that he will not be so cavalier when it comes to chainsaws in the future!
But what you write about, understanding from experience, cannot be over emphasized. I grew up on a ranch and what I learned there shaped the rest of my life. You learn about life, death, and the fine line that separates them. You learn how to be resourceful and solve whatever problem presents. But mostly you learn responsibility.
It seems that's what's lost these days. The character to stand up and say "I'm responsible!" Not my family, not my friends, not my neighbours, and surely not my government but I alone accept full responsibility not only for my actions but for whatever circumstances come my way. If a horse kicks you in the head or a cow hooks you with her horn it's not their fault. It's your fault.
We might die young but we'll know why we died.
Is there a path left that can lead us into responsibility?
Boom!!!! I love what you said. I really do!!!! I grew up on a farm and I learned much through that process, that I am now appreciating more and more. Not many people have that experience or opportunity like you said. When I was growing up, farm kids got all the good jobs because people knew that the kids were capable, responsible and hard working. Not many farm kids any more! Yes, @yulem, I sooooo agree with you my friend. Thank you for stating this so brilliantly.
Hey @wwf first of all give a Get Well Soon Hug to your son from my side.
I must accept one fact that you are a very much composed and risk accepting personality with always a good smile on your face. Frustration can not bother you in any emergency which is the finest quality you got by experiencing 50 golden years of your life in this field may be.
It is the human nature that he gets depressed when someone so closed gets hurt and tears run down the eyes are natural phenomenon but yo are conveying the message to readers; Be in your senses at the time of emergency. Stay focused and calm during any risk.
You and you wife gave your son first aid; it teaches us by using mental approach one can control the situation in a very perfect way.
Role of animals is very much important in human's life and you logical mentioned;
Quote of the day learnt from you I chose to live and I want to have a good death
Thank yo so much for inspiring many on #steemit through your inspirational blog.
Keep sharing such influencing worth reading Posts.
Prayers for your son to get better soon
Stay Blessed you all :)
Just to be clear, I do get frustrated and I do lose my cool from time to time. But when it matters most, I am able and willing to put all that aside to deal with the crisis. My taekwondo training plus off grid life style has taught me to remain cool headed. I was scared, but was still able to act appropriately and that is what matters most. But I still have a physical vessel that loses it's cool every once in a while, struggle with anger, frustration, sadness and those other emotions. Doing my best to work through it all and this is my journey. Thank you for those wonderful words. <3
What an amazing soul you're. You are inspiring me through your all posts i was just reading your old Blog which you mentioned;
Oh Man! you are giving me beautiful life lessons and ways to manage the LIFE in an appropriate way without tension and misery.
For your constant efforts, You deserve a big #salute SIR <3 <3
You may enjoy starting at the beginning of my blog as I've shared much of our off grid lessons, etc a few months ago and building up through the technical aspects, which would be the contents of my second book. In between, I also put my first book on steemit for people to read as well. I think you would really enjoy that book.
It is written from the point of view of a Christian, but if you see and hear the 'spirit' of my message, I am very confident that you could translate it into your own language and beliefs as well and find support for what I share in my book within your own sacred texts.
By the way, my Christian views is NOT the same as those who follow organized religion. Just to be clear. :)
Well @wwf i am student of Social Sciences and i consider the Religion as the part of the society but not the society as a whole. So, i am very flexible on this particular issue :)
Your Book, Wow! it would be an honor for me to translate that into my language as well and i would share it with my friends, family and with my students as well.
I want a detailed chat with you so where can i contact you for this?
I am very much interested to learn something big from you @wwf
I'm downloading Discord now, so that we can chat. Here is my book:
https://steemit.com/book/@wwf/graduating-life-with-honours-full-book-with-links-to-each-chapter
It has a copyleft on it, which means you can translate it and distribute it for free as long as you don't change the content of the book. :) <3
Hi @wwf, Thanks for sharing the link. I will go through it.
Since you're conversant with your inadequacies already, managing them are a bit easier, no human is perfect anyway, we can only try our best.
Good to hear your son is okay after the accident. As you say, with children (and adults?), sometimes lessons have to be learnt the hard way.
One of my prepping priorities for the family has been learning first aid.
My eldest daughter and I have trained and volunteered with the St John Ambulance. My wife has been on several first aid courses through work. And my youngest learns it regularly through her cadet training.
Training will be part of it, dealing with the trauma of the situation will be the as yet untested part.
Great to hear. We took our classes years ago, but it was amazing how quickly it all came back to us when we needed it. Refresher courses would help for sure. Glad to hear that your entire family is taking classes. I don't think either of our sons have training. Perhaps it is time to send them on a few courses. Thank you for reminding me.
I never thought about it before, how experience with butchering animals would help us to stay calm in life threatening situations, but it makes so much sense! Just another way our animal brothers and sisters help us Survive!
It is not only butchering but also stewarding them too. They get injured, have problems and get sick just like humans. By learning how to look after them, we learn how to look after ourselves. I'm glad I was able to introduce a new idea. <3 To be honest, I never really realized this until our son hurt himself and I reflected on how well we did and associated that with our time stewarding animals. There are blessings in situations that at first glance seems like a tragedy. We learned a lot through this experience.
I think you are right and logical enough about animals' life. Yes they also live in the form of groups and have many similarities to us. So your point is valid
I do also 100% agreed upon "There are blessings in situations that at first glance seems like a tragedy"@wwf
Well @lyndsaybowes , Absolutely quite same feelings i had before reading this article
Big thanks to @wwf who is not a healer only but a very great mind who taught us how to tackle the emergency risks by taking service from the animals. I think he deserves big appreciation for his efforts :)
To be blunt, I share what comes to me through spirit. Spirit is what guides me now and deserves the biggest share of your praise. I am but a servant and doing my best to live my life in peace and share the journey with others.
From where such positive spirit come in life ? On one side your son was injured badly but on other side you and your wife positively managed everything .... what is the hidden secret of your life's positive approach @wwf?
I shared that journey in my book 'Graduating Life with Honours'. I shared that book on my blog.
https://steemit.com/book/@wwf/graduating-life-with-honours-full-book-with-links-to-each-chapter
Yes i went through that blog and it is in my new years resolution that i will read 'Graduating Life with Honours' @wwf :)
Wow can't imagine the goat birth with two heads sticking out! Glad your son is okay, chainsaws kind of scare me but I think some fear towards them is healthy. I have a goat I am to slaughter for my first time very soon. Any tips or advice you might have on that is helpful. I have only ever slaughtered a rooster so I'm apprehensive but we plan to do it as a community so that helps.
There is some good articles on how to do it on www.motherearthnews.com. That will help you with the physical components, however I want to add more emotional, mental and spiritual aspects.
Keep in mind that the animal is a spiritual being as well. Tell it what is going to happen a few days ahead of time so that the animal can prepare as well. If you have some tobacco, give an offering to it's spirit so that you are not just 'taking' its vessel. Taking the life of a larger animal is much more difficult emotionally than a rooster. Be prepared for the emotional reaction. There is sadness, mourning and a range of other feelings that you will need to work through. Many people refuse to do the kill for this reason, but I think it is important that we have a deep connection with the animal until it's spirit leaves its body. Afterwards, it is just meat that will nourish your own bodies. But this is a spiritual event and I ask that the animal be respected during the process. That is how I tend to do things here and it helps me work through it all and ensure that I honour the animal the best way I know how. If you have customs of your own then you may want to draw upon them to help you and the animal.
Doing this with plants is also beneficial too. Something I learned from my indigenous brothers and sisters here. That is why I grow tobacco now. So that I have something to offer when we go harvesting in the bush. I pray this helps.
I think I will write a more detailed blog entry as you asked a very important question and I want to write about it in much more detail. Thank you for the idea.
Wow thankyou so much for the detailed response! I mostly meant advice on a spiritual level and you have certainly delivered! I appreciate it immensely. I do have organic whole leaf tobacco and plan to do exactly as you suggest :) I look forward to your post! <3
Also I believe anyone who eats meat should have to at least participate in it's harvest.
Ive often wondered what you do when faced with injuries since you are off grid. Being trained in first aid makes total sense and is a must. Raising animals and the teachings they will give you is something I never thought of.
Chainsaw safety is always a good thing to cover.
Hope your holidays have been safe and well brother
All is good here brother. We are safe here ... now. :)
Thank goodness your son is fine now! I like what you say about being a steward of domestic animals to teach you many skills and prepare you for the time where you may be confronted with a loved one who is seriously sick or injured. We had chickens and ducks for a few years. Of course, they are not as fancy as mammals. But my kids have been through the joy to witness their birth, the responsibility of caring for them, and the sadness when they hurt and eventually die. As a result, they are more prepared for life events at least emotionally when dealing with death in the future.
Thank God for your son's safety.
I hope this incident is useful to him. So he learns how to taken first aid for himself or for other....
In the area where I live, we have a lot of scorpions. And in case someone's been bitten by a scorpion. He must go to a hospital 3 hours ago or he will die...
And there are a lot of people living out of town--- In order to Sheep Breeding---
They don't have electricity and they don't have a cell phone network. And the road is so bad.
When I asked a man of them: what are you doing in case you got a scorpion bite? Smile. And he said: This is very simple... We only use some herbs.....
I told him, "but why don't we use it too?" Why should I go to the hospital?
He told me: because you are used to medications and chemicals... that destroyed your immune system and you don't depend on nature like us....
I thought this man was right
... Everything in nature is good for our health and our lives.
The more we are away from nature, the more likely we are to be exposed to diseases....
Thank you brother.@wwf.. Share this with us.... And I wish your son would be wary of dealing with the saw.
Wow, that's so close to home and must have been a super scary experience. It was very lucky you knew first aid and that he did minimal damage to the internal components of his foot. Should leave a nice scar though.
I still cringe when my little bro starts up the chainsaw. My family live in a remote country town on the boarder of NSW & VIC. My brother who is a little in the wild side, took a bomb car out for a paddock thrashing only to hit a wombat hole going 80km an hour. Flipping the car and throwing him from it at the age of 14. He was so lucky he got thrown out or he would have been crushed. He was airlifted by helicopter to ACT hospital with frontal lobe damage. His now 23 and still has huge anger management issues.
But that doesn't even measure on what happened when I was about 10/11, again a country property in the middle of nowhere but this time a family friends place. As country kids we fended for ourselves often so it wasn't unusual for our parents to leave us for hours at a time. This time there were 6 kids all under 12, four girls and two boys. We were playing chasey as kids do and the girls decided it would be funny to lock to boys out. One of the boys was not impressed banging on the glass door hard enough that his hand went through it. Splitting his wrist vertically and hitting his vein. I have never seen so much blood in my life. Not knowing first aid and being one of the oldest it was horrific. Some of us tried to stop it with tissues to no available the eldest was on the phone to emergency. We had sent the youngest ones off to the neighbours a few kilometers run for adult help. Lucky the emergency people walked us though what to do and we were able to slow the bleeding until the adults/ambulance got there.
Vowing I would never feel that way again. As soon as I was old enough I got my first aid and renew it regularly to ensure I have at least the basics to aid in an emergency.
So glad your son is ok. I love your approach to medicine. Animals in general are very very much like people. There are some differences in certain meds etc... but for the most part, mammals are mammals especially with first aid and wound care. I may not be a human doctor, but I bet my skills would still be marketable when the zombies come. Great post with excellent information.
My wife and I were talking afterwards. If either of us were injured, we could do what the doctor did. Not that much different than what we already do now. Animals are good teachers. If push came to shove, we could do triage work to save lives, especially if there are no more doctors.
I don't doubt it at all. A shroud of mystery has been drawn around the world of human medicine that is unhealthy. It has been reinforced by laws that can put you in jail or have your kids taken away for neglect if you don't toe the current medical protocols when dealing with family medicine. It also hamstrings physicians who are urged not to innovate or think. Follow the algorithm and collect your check. New has replaced tried and true without having to be proven superior. It's very sad. Give me a gaping wound, some sugar or honey, and watch the magic.