My family had an unpleasant experience the past few days which made me question whether it is really feasible to prepare to "ride out" a pandemic. My plans for dealing with a pandemic have always been of the "bug-in" model. I stockpile enough food, medicines, and other supplies to allow my family not to need to leave our home for several weeks, if necessary. My wife and I each have the ability to telecommute, and we have sufficient computers at home for us both to work at the same time, though childcare would be an issue.

All of this assumes, of course, that we know it is time to "bug-in" before we get sick.

When I went out for an errand in the late afternoon Saturday I heard a report on the radio that NYC emergency rooms were seeing an influx of people with severe gastro-intestinal troubles. Perhaps if I had heard this report in the morning, we would not have gone to a birthday party for a one-year old that morning, but quite frankly, I doubt it. (Can you see where this is going?)

Sunday was a great day. The boys' grandfather came for a visit and we showed him around our new neighborhood. He took us all out for pizza, and headed home at around 3pm when our two-year old went down for his nap. At around 3:30 my wife told me she didn't feel well, and by four she was vomiting with regularity. At 4:30 I heard a blood-curdling scream come from the two-year old's room, and I ran upstairs to find him sitting in bed covered in vomit. Uh oh.

My wife and son continued to vomit on a regular basis for the next six to eight hours. They each tried to drink fluids to stay hydrated, but were unable to keep anything down. My wife became dehydrated to the point that she could no longer nurse our five month old.

My son's pediatrician suggested that I limit their fluids for an hour or so to give their stomachs time to calm down, and then limit them to just a few sips at a time until they could keep that down. He also assured me that I was going to get sick too. Apparently this bug was spreading like wildfire through the city. I did my best to wash my hands constantly and walked around with a bottle of purell in my pocket to try and avoid transferring whatever bug they had to me or the baby. However, the truth is that I was covered with my son's vomit, as all he wanted to do was sit in my lap, and he could not recognize the signs that he was about to throw up again.

Eventually we put out a call for help and my mother (bless her) drove out to the house with formula for the baby and pedialite for my dehydrated wife and son. We isolated her and the baby as best we could from the rest of us. The pediatrician was correct, and by 4:30am I was throwing my guts up too. This was not a simple bout of upset stomach – I spent several hours curled up on the floor of the bathroom alternating between shivering cold and sweating hot. My wife and I were unable to care for the baby in any meaningful way once the vomiting started, and luckily there was a twelve hour window between when my wife got sick and I did, and that my mother was able to rush out and help us.

I was amazed by how quickly we went from having a happy weekend to all being very sick. I'm guessing that my wife and son picked up the bug somewhere, and then I picked it up from them. It's possible the baby picked it up first, but I tend to doubt it. We were never in any real danger – a fully functional medical system was just a 911 call and / or a short drive away, and the pediatrician called within ten minutes of my paging him, but it was eye opening indeed.

What did I learn? / Questions for the group:

1) If this had been a pandemic flu – or something worse – we could all be dead. And we'd likely infected my mother and father as well, before we even knew we were sick. While we probably would have managed this without my mother's help if we had to, if the illness had lasted longer we would not have been able to.
2) You cannot rely on the news media to let you know it is time to put "universal precautions" in place. By the time I heard there was a bug going around, my family was likely already infected. What clues are others looking for to warn them of a severe illness making its way through their community?
3) Caring for sick family members is emotionally draining. My two-year old was literally begging and crying for juice (pedialite) and I had to withhold it from him to get his stomach to settle. We were about two hours away from our deadline for him keeping fluids down before we were going to head for the hospital to get him an IV. (At that point he would have been vomiting for twelve hours)
4) Things happen when you least expect them to. Most of my "stuff" was still at our old apartment, including the emergency supply of baby formula, thermometers, and most medications. I need to make sure I have more comprehensive supplies with me whenever we travel.
5) You can get sick FAST. My wife went from feeling perfectly fine to being completely incapacitated in about 30 minutes.
6) We're not the only ones. Two of my colleagues were out sick on Monday, and one of my clients had a trip to the ER for an IV yesterday.
7) Where do you draw the line? If I had known there was a stomach bug going around, would I have kept my family from going to a birthday party? What if it was the flu? Other sicknesses?

Anyone have any thoughts or wisdom on preparing for a pandemic, and more importantly, on the "bright lines" that will cause you to implement your action plans?

Greetings JesselP,

You have posed questions that I have been wrestling with (from several directions) for a long, long time. My answers are going to wander a wee bit to perhaps provide you with food for thought by reflecting on some other scenarios:

1) If this had been a pandemic flu – or something worse – we could all be dead. THAT'S A FACT, JACK!!!

2) You cannot rely on the news media to let you know it is time to put "universal precautions" in place. ....... What clues are others looking for to warn them of a severe illness making its way through their community? I CAN'T RELY ON THE NEWS MEDIA FOR ANY NEWS OF A REALTIME NATURE, WHICH IS WHAT'S REQUIRED. I TRY TO LOOK AT VARIOUS INTERNET NEWS SITES FOR INDICATORS OF WHAT'S A THREAT OR WHAT IS NOT. IF I HEAR THAT MOSCOW OR BEIJING IS BEING EVACUATED, I THINK THEY ARE ABOUT TO LAUNCH NUKES AT US AND THEN I WILL ACT ACCORDINGLY. SHORT OF AN EPIDEMIC OR PANDEMIC BEING OFFICIALLY "ANNOUNCED", I HAVE NO INDICATORS WHEN TO CALL EVERYBODY HOME AND START A SELF-IMPOSED QUARANTINE. SHORT OF AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, WHOSE EMPLOYERS ARE GOING TO RESPECT YOUR "PARANOIA" IN SELF-IMPOSED QUARANTINE?????

3) Caring for sick family members is emotionally draining. THIS IS ALWAYS TRUE FOR ANYONE WHO CARES FOR SOMEONE ELSE ON A 24/7 BASIS. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SLEEP AS/WHEN YOU CAN AND JUST KEEP PLUGGING ALONG. THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION UNLESS THE GRANDPARENTS CAN COME AND HELP. tHEY ARE AT RISK THEN AND THEY MAY HAVE BROUGHT IN WHAT YOU'VE BEEN AVOIDING TO THE REST OF YOU (HEALTH WISE).

4) Things happen when you least expect them to.
THIS IS WHY I TOOK MY BOB AND WEAPONS WITH ME ON THAT LITTLE 160 MILE ERRAND THAT I RAN THE OTHER DAY.

5) You can get sick FAST. My wife went from feeling perfectly fine to being completely incapacitated in about 30 minutes.
I TOO HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SPEED THAT A BUG CAN LAY YOU OUT. AT TIMES, ALL YOU CAN DO IS HANG ON AND DEAL WITH WHAT HAS TO BE DONE AND FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE.

6) We're not the only ones.
SOMETIMES HAVING COMPANY DOESN'T HELP YOUR FEELINGS!!!!!

7) Where do you draw the line? If I had known there was a stomach bug going around, would I have kept my family from going to a birthday party? What if it was the flu? Other sicknesses?
STOMACH BUGS ARE ALWAYS GOING AROUND,,,,OR STREP THROAT,,,,OR SOMETHING!!! I HAVE NOT FOUND A REALISTIC SOLUTION IN THE REALITY IN WHICH WE ALL LIVE. STAYING AT HOME ONLY WORKS WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY SICK OR WHEN AN EPIDEMIC/PANDEMIC HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY DETERMINED BY THE POLITICAL TYPES. BY THEN, IT'S TOO LATE FOR MOST!!!!!

I'm sorry that I have nothing better to offer. This is a problem that I am wrestling with irt many threats. If I come up with anything better,,,I WILL POST IT HERE!!!!

Bugging in against a panademic is fortification plan. And just like most forts, once the bad guys are through the gates, your probably hosed.

On the other hand, being able to execute this option is what we are planning for.

My intell comes from an excellent source- my mother is a medical librarian. She, the hospital chaplin and the epidemiologist (I think I've got the right person- the germ guy) have coffee every morning to compare intell. My phone rings, and three words from her has me executing my portion of the family plan.

Bugging in against a panademic is fortification plan. And just like most forts, once the bad guys are through the gates, your probably hosed.

On the other hand, being able to execute this option is what we are planning for.

As for what you call the "bright lines", my word would come from an excellent source- my mother is a medical librarian. She, the hospital chaplin and the epidemiologist (I think I've got the right person- the germ guy) have coffee every morning to compare intell. My phone rings, and three words from her has me executing my portion of the family plan.

I've read John Barry's The Great Influenza, a terrific account of the last great flu pandemic of 1917, and am fairly convinced that the pandemic will be upon us all before we can take precautions or 'execute our fortification options'. Although if you are remote enough and keep enough distance from folks, anything can happen, but even with the best preps the flu will come down on us like rain, and its darn hard to dodge rain drops.

I think every one of your observations are good, and how you got sick should mirror how you may get sick in an actual pandemic. The most alarming thing to me is being sick, and unable to care for others. Your kids could be dying, while mom and dad are dying too, a day before or a day after the flu has run its course through others. Its a crapshoot, and beyond your control. Build some support systems now, so that in the event your family comes down with the flu, someone can come in and look in on you, and hopefully care for you enough to see you all through. And be prepared to reciprocate for others outside your immediate family.

One other thing about a flu pandemic to expect are the waves of influenza you may be exposed to - it doesn't all come at once, it may come in waves several months apart. Barry's book does alot to describe how this impacted world societies at the time, I really recommend it as a read to prepare for a pandemic. One observation that hasn't been fully confirmed is that folks who survived an early wave of influenza in 1917 appeared to be partially immune to a subsequent wave, that killed plenty of people when it came.

Most of all, just be ready for the reality of a pandemic - you can't run, there's not very many places to hide either. The best preparations may include some steps that don't come naturally to some folks on this forum - self-reliance is not as valuable an adaption as relying on others for surviving a pandemic. Be prepared to be sick, and be prepared to die and to watch loved ones die.

I think it will be luck if you realize that you need to bug in before it is upon you.
I, hopefully, might get some advance evidence to make that decision since I work at the hospital, but even then I doubt it since I'm merely in a support dept.

Good Data Doug Ritter.
I've bookmarked that site!

This is so familiar. Our family had a similar experience this summer. My wife took our 9 month old to a pool party (sounded like a good idea at the time...), and the next day he was running at both ends. Then my wife got it, then our 3 year old, then me. As noble as our efforts were to stop it from spreading, it was no use. We almost called the in-laws, but managed (barely) on our own.

I had similar thoughts as you expressed when this happened. We keep stocks of food and medicine on hand, but this reminds me to be more diligent about not getting behind.

I think the best way to deal with falling sick due to germs.

Is the go to the hospital and get the doctor to give you as many type of vaccination while you are still healthy.

Then when a pandemic comes around, you will be immune or partially immune. You will be in a better shape to survive the early days of the pandemic and not fall too sick.

This should give you enough time to hear the offical announcement and bug-in.