Preparing for a Pandemic

My intention is not to be an alarmist.  But here's the thing:  Ebola scares me. 

Perhaps this is because I read the book The Hot Zone many moons ago when I was in high school (and maybe I even read it twice...).  That book served to teach me that, sometimes, truth is much scarier than fiction ever could be.

And maybe it's because I've watched Hollywood give their take on pandemic situations with some of their movies (recent and less-recent) over the years. 

But I was less-than-thrilled when news of Ebola on another continent showed up in the news.  I'm even less thrilled now that there are confirmed cases in the United States. 

As with many things such as this, it got me thinking though:  How prepared is my family?  Could we hunker down for days, weeks, months, if we needed to?  Would we have what we needed to survive away from society?  And I keep coming back to the answer:  I'm not sure.  And maybe that's because I'll never feel completely ready.  I mean, who really wants to contemplate these things?  But it's so important to be prepared.  And now Ebola has given me one more reason to make sure we are.

So how can you be prepared?  Well, interestingly enough, ready.gov offers guidelines for helping people prepare for a pandemic situation.  They focused mainly on an influenza pandemic, and their guidelines include a 2-week supply of water and food.  You can check out more information here.  I am unsure if a 2-week supply would be sufficient for an Ebola pandemic.

The truth is:  I hope I never have to be prepared for an Ebola pandemic -- or any other one, quite frankly.  But as I read more and more in the news and do more and more research about being prepared, I am finding the reasons for being prepared are varied and plentiful.  And so, even if I never have to be prepared for Ebola...  I'd like to be. 

And you know what?  THRIVE Life can help you get your supply of food and water.  But I'm not intending this to be a "scare tactic" kind of thing.  Because you can prepare without THRIVE Life as well.  I honestly believe in being prepared -- and I honestly want those I care about to be prepared as well.  And that will look different for every one of us.  I want this blog to be a source of help, of information, and possibly even learning for those not familiar with the idea of preparing for the long-term in a variety of ways.  My family chooses to add variety to our home store of food with THRIVE Life, but that doesn't mean it's the right choice for everyone.  But becoming prepared is the right choice.  So please, if you take nothing else away from this blog, please know I want you and yours to be prepared.  Because, chances are if you're reading this, I know you -- and I care.  If you have any questions about how you can help your family prepare, please feel free to contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com.  I don't claim to be an expert, but I have been preparing with my family and researching preparedness for 3 1/2 years now, and I'd be more than happy to share my knowledge and experiences with anyone who would like help or guidance.