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Show ommunity lews A2 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009 Sentinel 42 East 300 North Spanish Fork, UT 84660 Lane Henderson Publisher Namon Bills Editor Dana Robinson . Assoc. Editor The Sentinel is published each Wednesday for $37.50 per year in area and $41.50 out of area by J-Man, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork Utah 84660. E-mail stories to edito r@s fsentinel. co m E-mail ads to ads@sfsentinel.com Call us at 801-794-4964 The entire content of this newspaper is Copyright © 2009 The Sentinel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor or publisher. THE SENTINEL (USPS 024716) is published weekly for S37.50 per year by J-Man Publishing, 280 North Main St., Spanish Fork, UT 84660. Periodicals Postage Paid at Spanish Fork, UT. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Sentinel, 42 East 300 North, Spanish Fork, UT 84660. DEADLINES Weddings, anniversaries, missionaries, 1st birthdays, articles, photos, letters to the editor Friday, 12 p.m. Display advertisements, classified ads, Business Index Friday, 12 p.m. Guardian of Your Community News Begin preparations Ready or Not Dawn Van Nosdol You plan and prepare and plan - and then you find out what you really need. Fortunately everything worked out, correct medications were given and everyone is well, but it was a big eye opener for me. I have been pretty confident that by carrying a list of the medications and medical history for my family in my purse, and posting another one in my house, I just knew that I was prepared for a medical incident. I guess what I did is better than nothing, but was I ever wrong. You need more; you need to put together an Emergency Information packet. Imagine this scenario (It has been haunting me): An empty nest, a disabled love one that needs full-time care, a caretaker that falls ill and can't call for help. A neighbor/friend drops by to chat that evening and finds the caretaker somewhat unresponsive. Help is called and the caretaker gets well the next day, but in the meantime the totally dependent loved one needs his/her medication - and by the way, which is the diabetic? No medical alert bracelet on either one. Oh no. There are no instructions for the medications except what is on the bottle: 'Take 1 capsule per day as directed". Is that "directed" in the morning or the evening? You have all of the medications gathered together, and you know that he/she needs their medication - but there are 14 bottles, and you don't have a clue! Let's even make this more interesting: It is a Saturday evening and the pharmacy has closed and the doctor never was "IN". The dependent one that is being cared for knows they need their medication, but doesn't know which ones. Dangerous predicament. I was scared because if someone came to our house and tried to figure out how to administer the medications that we need without the proper instructions, it could go bad real fast. Excel spreadsheet to the rescue! I don't ever want anyone to feel helpless like I did because of lack of information, so I have made two spreadsheets that you can fill out: Emergency Contacts and Medicine Chart. When you get them finished, putallthe charts in a zip-loc bag and tape it to the side of the fridge. Also put a sharp pencil or reliable pen in with it; just trust me when I say that it will be helpful. The first one, Emergency Contacts is exactly that, a list of all of the people or places that might be helpful, or would have helpful information, during an emergency. I've made an example for you, which is posted at www.apreparedhome.com, to get an idea of how to set it up. You will want to make sure that you fill out the first section and include all of the people who reside in the house and where they can be reached during the day. This is also a list that you could print off and carry in your wallet or purse. So, lets say that one day your neighbor/friend happens to stroll by and drops in to say "hi", but instead finds you passed out on the floor because you are dehydrated (tsk, tsk- two gallons of water, per person, per day for a two week period) and finds your loved one, who isn't dehydrated, but can't tell you anything. They can't remember any emergency information, or even what meds they need to take, but they do know they need them. — Well, after you fill the Emergency Contacts list out, you will go on to fill out the Medicine Chart and then you will be ready for such an incident. With the infor- "Drink your water, stay hydrated, two gallons of water, per person per day..." - Dawn Van Nosdol mation you have now provided, friends or neighbors will have the information they need to call the people that you think are important during an emergency. They will also have access to the information the emergency personnel need about the proper use and dosage of all of your medications. With this information they will be better able to diagnose and treat you and your loved one and there won't be a problem of the possibility of over or under-med- icating! I am feeling better already because as I was creating this, I was actually filling it out for our family. I am going to sleep better tonight. I've posted both charts for you to fill out and their examples at www. apreparedhome .com under the Ready or Not posting #43. And whatever you do, don't allow yourself to get dehydrated! If you don't feel well and you are unable to take in liquids and you have stopped urinating, for heavens sake, go to the doctors! I'm a little passionate about this because I nearly lost my mother to dehydration. She was sick, but didn't want to go to the doctors because, "she was going to be okay" and she ended up being literally just hours away from death when she finally did go to the doctors. She was hospitalized for three days. Drink your water, stay hydrated and, again, let's all say it together: "Two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period!" ...And where is your packet with all of your families emergency information? Exactly where it should be - taped to the side of your refrigerator. Now we are all going to sleep better at night. Courtesy photo SEND OFF: Jade Cloward gets a final kiss from her father, Brady Cloward, before he leaves for a year's deployment in Iraq with the Utah National Guard. A year-long goodbye for heroes There and Back Again Shirlene R. Ottensen Yahoooooooooo! I just had to do that! Along with that "yahoo" comes a big sigh of relief. We finished chopping our corn Saturday which is the latest date I think we've ever been in the corn harvest. We got delayed by a couple of storms and some machinery breakdowns. We only needed two more days before we got that storm on Wednesday which was a doozy. A consequence of that storm resulted in a few fields of frozen corn, but now it's all chopped up and in the bag! I really didn't think we could finish before the next storm that came on Sunday, but we did! There are indeed miracles that come every day that we live! With the prediction of the pending freeze Wednesday night, I'm sure that many of you did the same thing we did - made a last run on the garden. The crisper drawers in my fridge are filled with the last of the cucumbers, squash and tomatoes for another season. Also mixed in are a few peaches and pears. I hope I don't forget about them and let them go to waste. Do you ever do that! Sometimes I save something really special in the fridge and then forget about it and end up throwing it away anyway. That makes me so mad when I do that. I'm writing this column on Monday (the 5th ) and it has been an emotional day. I went to Airport #2 in Salt Lake this morning to say "good-bye" to a grandson who is beginning a year long deployment to Iraq. In fact, this is his second tour of duty there. Other family members were there including his wife and sixyear-old daughter and even though I have watched this kind of event many times over the past few years on TV, it doesn't compare with being there in person. We met in a large hanger at the airport and I would guess there was probably a couple hundred people there. After a program we had about an hour to visit before the time for their departure. It was quite a scene. Toddlers and babies of these soldiers were fairly oblivious to what was going on. The soldier-parents carried them around holding them close for the last time for several months. I'm sure they were thinking how these little ones would change and grow over the next year and all the "firsts" they would miss. Children about 4 and 5 stood close to their mother or father with their arms wrapped tightly around their legs. Parents of the soldiers stood proudly with their son or daughter as they posed for pictures. Husbands and wives hugged and kissed giving each other words of love and encouragement for the months ahead when they would be separated. Everyone had a camera taking lots of pictures of this memorable day. Everyone tried to smile as the time passed by all too quickly. Soon the pilots were making their way through the crowd alerting fellow crew members that "it's time to go!", and we all went out on the tarmac. The crews made their way to their assigned aircraft which were four very big Blackhawk helicopters. It was cloudy with a slight breeze blowing and it was bitter cold, but no one left. Soon the engines started and lights were flashing. After several minutes, the huge blades began to turn. Crew members made last minute preparations and then climbed inside. A few family members took advantage of a brief pause and rushed to the helicopters for that last kiss and picture. Soldiers on the ground scooted people several feet away from the helicopters as the blades were turned up to maximum speed for another few minutes. Then each took a turn as they moved out on the nearby runway. Those in the helicopters and all the by-standers took that last wave and then reality settled in. This is it\ They really are leaving! No longer feeling obligated to "be tough" for their soldier, in emotional relief the tears flowed freely. They sat on a runway for another few minutes and then all four lifted off the runway at the same time. They headed North and people were still looking as they rose higher in the sky. Some started to head back to their cars when the helicopters turned back and, flying rather low, made a circle around the airport. Again everyone began to wave. They rose in the air and surprised everyone by making a second pass at the airport and then headed south to their destination for the night. Many heartfelt prayers will go heavenward asking for blessings to be with both the soldiers as they serve our country and also on the families they left behind. The unit will be stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma for two months before going to Iraq and then - we'll all wait for that day a year from now when we can be at Airport #2 to welcome them all home again! My grandson's name is Brady Cloward and he is the son of Gary Cloward of Spanish Fork and Barbara and Darin Jensen of Palmyra. God's speed, Brady! • t |