The past couple of weeks I have felt myself getting more and more anxious. It is a combination of things- I am on the cusp of the busiest time of year at work, the girls are getting busier and busier with school, we've been working on lots of house projects, etc. But mostly I think it has to do with Ebola, or rather being unprepared. We are being inundated by the news right now with stories about Ebola and every little detail of what is going on with the cases of Ebola here in the US. And now I am adding one more story to that.
I understand that the chances of contracting this virus are slim, however I am tired of people telling others to stop worrying about it and blaming the media for causing fear and panic. It is very easy for people in other states to sit back and say people are freaking out over nothing. That would be true if the CDC and other health officials had been able to keep Ebola out of the US, or at the very least contain it to patient zero. However, when there are now 2 nurses who have contracted the virus, and 70+ other health care workers, and hundreds of others who were exposed because one of the nurses flew on an airplane, I think there is some justification in the upset over this. These people live and work close to where I live. They potentially could have children that go to school with my kids, shop at the same grocery store I do, etc. People have every right to be concerned about being exposed to this. I am not in agreement that people should freak out to the extent that they are boarding up their houses, but they do have a right to be concerned, especially with the way this was handled.
Time and again in history we have seen disasters that have proved we are not ready for them. 9/11, Katrina, Ebola. (Obviously those are just a few I am naming because those are ones that have had a direct impact on me.) We have a personal responsibility to be prepared for disasters, but our government agencies have a responsibility as well. I think we have failed on every level with this and I for one am thankful for the public outcry and the media covering this as it forced everyone to stop and realize that things need to change. We can contain this, but everyone needs to come together and get a better plan in place, and I think that is happening now.
This has also forced us to look at ourselves and evaluate how prepared we are as a family. We fell very short of where we needed to be. So I got over my fears of canning and forced myself to learn. Why was I so scared? It is so easy! I even canned chicken! Our food storage is still not quite where it needs to be, but it's better than it was. And we are now working on getting water storage and first aid. This is all stuff we should have already been working on, but at least we are now getting our act together and will be prepared for whatever may come in the future.
It is true that "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear", and I think that all of this has helped us- the government, state and local health departments, and us individually and as families- realize we need to be better prepared.
(Check out the link below. Comforting, huh?)
http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9432bfb2c8acd4a5f9e05590b&id=0e7a5b121a&e=415d7c100a
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