Snow Emergency Day For Us Equals Fun And Lots of Planning Ahead

We live in eastern Pennsylvania, and we have been hit lately with snowstorms. On Friday, we had a nor’easter that dumped about 4 inches of snow and lots of wind. We were fortunate that our power only went out for three minutes because many people in my area weren’t so lucky. Some were out of power for days.  We did see a huge branch fall across the street during the storm. Everyone was okay though.

On Friday, my attendant worked all day during the storm.  My daughter felt irritated because her fun field trip sadly had to be cut short due to early transportation. My son felt a bit scared when the tree branch fell across the street. But we all handled it well, baked cookies and stayed safe.  I must say that I haven’t seen it that windy in a long time!

Starting on Monday, the news geared us all up for another nor’easter to happen today! The attendant that works on Friday lives very close to me and often comes in during bad weather. She went to Arizona this week. My regular attendant lives about 20 minutes away. So we had to plan out how we were going to handle everything in case she couldn’t get here.

As many people who have disabilities know, bad weather often means people can’t get to work so they call off. When you’re dependent on someone for the basic life essentials, it can get real stressful when bad weather approaches. I have been in this position more than I like and know how important planning can be.

Luckily, we shopped yesterday and got everything that I  need. Then she set me up with drinks that my daughter can easily hand me and food she can easily get out for us. I mentally prepared a schedule for the kids with fun plus cleaning so the house wasn’t a big mess at the end of the day.

My attendant surprised me this morning by coming in for a few hours to help me get ready for the day. She left before the snow became a problem. So far so good thanks to our planning and teamwork with the kids.  The storm doesn’t seem as bad as they predicted so far. So everything should be back to normal tomorrow!

Share Button
About Jessica Grono
Jessica Grono is a special education teacher, public speaker and writer. She is former Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania. She plays goalie for Philadelphia Flyers PowerPlay! Jessica is happily married with two children. She has cerebral palsy.