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How Do You Prep With A Disability?
Survival Institute
Survival Institute

How Do You Prep With A Disability?

by
July 15, 2018

Prepping can be a time consuming and, depending on what you do, physically taxing process. If you are training for self-defense or building a cabin by hand (so it’s secret) at your bug out location or if you’re hiking while carrying heavy packs so that you get used to carrying all of that weight when you have to go off grid, then good physical health and fitness can be incredibly helpful.

But what if you have a disability so that you don’t have all of the same physical advantages that people without disabilities have? What do you do then?

Fortunately, Samantha Biggers has some tips about how to be survival ready when you have a disability or are caring for someone with a disability. One thing that Biggers strongly recommends focusing on is having lights and lighting. She writes,

Falls and stumbles can lead from living an independent lifestyle to having to live in a home where care is provided.  On the other hand, I have heard of those that are disabled laying in bed after a power outage or other event because they are afraid to move around without light. This can lead to issues like dehydration, not taking medications on time, and worse!

A good lantern/flashlight should be placed where it can be reached immediately in a situation.

Biggers also stresses having food readily available or at least easy-to-prepare foods on hand which makes sense. You don’t want a person with a disability to have to fight with food packaging to be able to get to the food so that they can eat.

Of course, having water easily accessible and nearby is important. If a person’s disability is physical, they may not be able to get up and move around a house or go outside to get fresh water, so it’s important to have that water readily available.

Of course, medications must be both kept safe and out of reach of children but also easily available for the person for whom they are prescribed.

You may also want to take extra precautions to have portable toilets near a disabled person’s bed and to have backup power, whether solar or gasoline powered. Some disabilities make getting a bathroom difficult, and other disabilities require the regular use of medical equipment requiring electricity.

The good news is that, all-in-all, prepping with a disability simply requires a little more forethought, which is a good thing for anyone prepping, disability or not. Otherwise, other than the precautions mentioned here, prepping for a person with a disability will be the same as prepping for anyone else.

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