Is It Time for an MS Drill?

In preparation for an interview that was recently requested for a local radio station, I was doing some research that, as per usual, led me down a multiple sclerosis (MS) path.

The interview was not about MS, or anything health-related at all. After yet another school shooting in the United States, I was asked to help listeners in Ireland understand America’s gun culture. Mind you, I would have much rather been talking about anything else!

School days today are so much different from when I was young. I am of the “drop, duck, and cover” drills generation. (This maneuver was supposed to help us survive an atomic bomb explosion.) Now, they have “active shooter” lockdown drills in schools. No judgment there. It’s just a fact.

Practicing what we must do in difficult situations is an important part of making it through said situations. My first trumpet teacher told me that “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

So, I get the need for such drills.

My experience in the U.S. Coast Guard was even more studded with drills of every sort. From fire and flooding exercises to man overboard drills and even on to Navy-led military training drills, it seemed that any idle time was a good time for a drill.

A Drill for Multiple Sclerosis Emergencies?

So, I had to wonder about the idea of MS drills for those of us who know the difficulties of this disease.

With all the symptoms that MS can present, it’s easy to see why I might think the occasional drill (or at least a solid plan of action) might be worth running through now and again.

Here are five tips for running an MS drill with those closest to you.

1. Ensure that you have an emergency list that includes:

• Contact numbers for your primary care doctor, neurologist, MS nurse, and any other MS-related medical providers you use
• A list of all the prescription medications (and doses) as well as over-the-counter meds you may take
• A list of food and medication allergies that have serious repercussions for you
• An ICE ("in case of emergency") contact on your mobile phone that others will be able to access if something happens to you away from home.

2. Write out a plan and go over it with at least two people close to you as to what to do if you fall, cannot get out of bed, have an acute onset of symptoms, or need any other sudden help. This plan should include the care of children and pets if you are unable to care for them for a while.

3. Have a list of three people you can call in a pinch. Have a conversation with them so they know they are on such a list and inform them about the plan described in No. 2.

4. Make a plan for what to do if you find yourself away from home and in need of help. Share that plan with everyone above as well.

5. Update your lists and plans at least once a year — perhaps at the same time as you replace the batteries in your smoke detectors when the clocks “spring forward” — and review it with all involved.

Having an Emergency Plan Helps Us Rest Easier

As you can see, I’m not talking about an all-out, “This is a drill — Mom has fallen!” sort of thing. But it is important that all of us, and those whom we ask for help, are aware of what and how we might need their assistance.

Forewarned is forearmed, I always believe. And a well-tested plan will help when it is needed, but can also let us rest a bit easy knowing that if something happens — well, when it happens — we’ve made provisions.

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers,

Trevis