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Hurricane Ida is churning in the Gulf of Mexico, and taking aim at New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The hurricane is expected to hit as a Category 4 storm, and storm surges of over 20 feet are expected in some spots. Twenty or more inches of rain are expected in southern Louisiana and western Mississippi.
It has been 16 years since Hurricane Katrina took a very similar path. The tragedy and its aftermath affected millions of Americans' lives, including my own. Within days, I was part of a team that flew to Baton Rouge and then deployed east of Baton Rouge, and sending medical teams into many affected communities over the next four weeks, including Biloxi, MS on week 3 and Sulfur Springs, LA, on week 4.
This will be a chance to see if any lessons are remembered from those tragic weeks starting with the days before Katrina's landfall.
I do not know what changes will be implemented in the shelters because of Katrina, but I remember how upper respiratory infections occasionally would sweep through some of the shelters then. This is likely to be a double tragedy, starting with the direct impact of the storm and then followed by additional Covid impacts. Louisiana and Mississippi have been terribly hard-hit already by delta. This is insult added to injury.
People often wonder why those who live in the path of a storm refuse to evacuate. Understand, these are often people with limited means, and they've seen what shelters are like and how long it takes authorities to allow them back to their homes and what may be left of their belongings. Add to those concerns the policy of many shelters to disallow pets, and several other policies that make shelter life particularly bad for some, and it is more understandable why people stay when authorities say leave. For many, they'd rather die.
If you are in the path of Ida, here are some things to remember:
1. Have a written list of your prescribed medications, with dose and times, and keep it in a ziploc bag or otherwise kept dry. Take a picture of the list and email it to yourself.
2. Put your pills in a bag and carry it with you. Some medications must not be stopped suddenly, like benzodiazepines, seizure medications, clonidine, and beta blockers. Make sure you have them. If you get your medications from a locally owned pharmacy, you may have difficulty getting refills without proper documentation.
3. If you go to a shelter, wear an N95 mask whenever indoors. If you can encourage the shelter to keep windows and doors open as much as possible (with screens, I hope), you'll reduce risk of Covid transmission. Eat outdoors. Stay outside of the shelter as much as you can.
4. Have a plan for the care of your pets.
5. You have been warned. If you die because of a hurricane, it is on you.
6. If you stay in your home in a flood zone near the coast or near a river or anywhere that is being evacuated, write your name, birthdate, and an emergency contact on your skin with a sharpie marker, so that when they find your body, they don't have to waste time trying to identify you. It's the least you can do for emergency workers.
Stay healthy!
I'm on a weekend night call schedule this weekend, which always leaves me feeling under-rested and generally icky.
But I wanted to remind you that outdoor exercise without screens is really good for your mental health.
Go outdoors, preferably into the woods.
Get in tune with those surroundings, the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the movement of air and the varying temperatures as you walk.
We were made to be outdoors.
We were definitely not made to work in cubicles.
One Degree!
What you want from your body will dictate what you need to set as goals, and the goals will determine what you'll end up having to change to attain them.
I've spoken many times about systems being better than goals, and my position has not changed.
But goals are easier to discuss and to understand, so for this week, we'll be very specific about goals.
Do you want more muscle mass?
Do you want to be stronger?
Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to gain weight?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to improve general fitness?
Do you want longevity?
Do you want strong bones?
Do you want to earn a Black Belt?
Understanding the benefits and costs of each particular goal may help you decide what you want.
For example, if you want to compete in body-building competitions, you'll not be doing the same thing as if you were focused on longevity. Same with strength competitions.
But general fitness and longevity go fairly well together.
Running is great but will increase the likelihood of needing knee or hip ...
I'll make this one short and to the point.
Spring time change is hard on all of us. Having to get up an hour early doesn't make going to bed an hour earlier much easier.
Yes, it's nice to have more productive time in the evening.
But it's at the cost of forcing us out of be an hour earlier, as we all know.
Our challenge is to adjust our circadian rhythm to match the world's expectations around us.
My main strategy is supplementing with a dose of melatonin about a half hour before I need to be asleep. It helps most people fall asleep more readily.
If you need a nap during your day, take it between mid-morning and early afternoon. Limit it to 20 minutes.
Taking a longer or later nap may make it even harder to get off to sleep in time.
All of the other normal advice applies even moreso:
- Take a 20-minute walk after supper.
- No screen time for the last hour before bed.
- Listen to calm music after supper.
- Don't eat for 2 hours before bed.
- Don't have conflict-laden conversations ...
