Holly Bradley - Member - The Prepared

Reply to: Online survival/prepping courses? Posted September 11, 2023

I have checked out graybeardedgreenberet.com He has some excellent classes. I would love to take some. A little $$, but you get what you pay for. Primitive living, weapon making, hides, baskets, how to field dress animals, etc!!!

Reply to: Hello from illinois Posted September 10, 2023

I’m in IL. Kind of close to Champaign/Urbana area. I’m medical by nature. My husband is a journeyman in industrial maintenance so he can do all kinds of things. We have 8acres in the country. Seems like the world gets a little more scary every day right now.

What are your tips for hiding food/valuables?

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Posted January 17, 2023

Reply to: New gun owners with questions? Posted January 16, 2023

I was using baggies. This is a fantastic idea!!! We already have a vacuum sealer. Just never thought of this. Thank you!!

Reply to: Has anyone read the book “Easy Cellar” by Tom Griffith? Posted October 14, 2022

I bought this book and we are actively building the easy cellar. It is not quite as low cost as he states with todays inflation, but this book is WELL done. Explanations, pictures, exact measurements, and many helpful video links. It is a low cost cellar. We plan on using it as a root cellar/nuclear fallout shelter. And it’s easy to understand/accomplish. Not high tech or high cost but I believe effective. Just my opinion. Worth the money!!

Reply to: My experience of using a WaterBob during a personal disaster Posted October 14, 2022

Thank you for that review!! I appreciate hearing about preps that worked (or even didn’t work)!!!! I never really considered the waterbob, but I’m thinking about it now….

Reply to: Nuclear disaster and water purification Posted October 14, 2022

Thank you so very much for your response and the recommended bundle!!! And that would be my plan, stored water, then access to safe well water if needed, then move out if we have to. Just want to have a plan for protecting my family. And we do have our water tested. It tested better than “city” water. We have a whole house filter as well…

Reply to: Nuclear disaster and water purification Posted October 14, 2022

Thank you for your response!!! This validates what I thought. The water should be ok for a while, but difficult to get to. If we are outside with a bucket, pulling water up it could get contaminated. Probably best to get a solar well pump to pump the water up…..

Reply to: Nuclear disaster and water purification Posted October 14, 2022

A well bucket is specifically designed to drop into a well. It is very long and narrow to go through the well cap, but like you said, it is a bucket so we would have to open the well cap and possible contamination. Do you know of a specific way to test for nuclear fallout in water? We have a Geiger meter, but from my reading, they don’t test water well, not really designed for that. Any recommendations for a water tester? And I believe that is a good recommendation to somehow cover that open area on the holding tank. Thank you for the response!!

Nuclear disaster and water purification

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Posted October 13, 2022

Reply to: Navigating the healthcare system in the USA Posted October 13, 2022

In the person to person review it should say a review with your DR and the insurance company. That is how the review takes place.

Reply to: Navigating the healthcare system in the USA Posted October 13, 2022

How to keep records? I agree with the online portals. You can get copies of everything. Also, agree with others to print and put in a file and then store digitally. How to deal with the insurance company? Agree with others on prior approval. Make a call the day before expensive tests and ask if you are unsure. If the code is not correct or not funded, contact DR office for resolution and then the insurance company. If nothing can be done there look up the code on google and do some research, you might be able to have a more informed discussion with a little more knowledge. We call them CPT codes. So google CPT code and then the number and it will bring up a list. Compare to your procedure and diagnosis. Also, in the pre-approval stage, if you are denied, have your DR do a person to person review with your DR. Specifically request this from your DR. AND on DR told me the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you have the time and energy, call them daily….speak to the same person, if no help there, ask for the supervisor. How to not eat savings?? It is always cheaper to go with IN-NETWORK Doctor. That being said, that is not always the best choice as you might get better care elsewhere. So that is a cost/benefit decision. Also, many healthcare institutions moving toward providing an estimate of cost when requested by patient. Ask for those up front. RX express definitely helpful for drug costs. Print out the coupon and take it to the pharmacy. If your insurance supports mail order drugs for 90 days, do it!!! Always cheaper than 30 day from retail pharmacy. Can’t do schedule 2 or narcotics this way, but most others can be done like that. Get the itemized bill on everything and compare to your treatment. Anything you don’t recognize, dispute it. Is a test necessary? Ask the long list of questions…Why are we doing this test? What are you looking for, specifically? How will this test change my care? What will this CT scan show that the ultrasound didn’t show?? Is there a less invasive/expensive way to get this information? Also, if we find X what will we do versus if we find Y?? ( which goes to the question of how this test impacts your care) Clafify any previous tests that were the same. I just had these X-rays at my DR office. Can I just sign a consent and have the info sent here?? Or do you need new X-rays? What will these new X-rays show that the older ones did not? If in the hospital, what is the plan of care today? What tests are we doing? Am I seeing any new specialists and why am I seeing them? And good advice to have a support person taking notes. I am younger and in healthcare, but even I know I’m not at my best when I’m sick or distressed. Best to have two ears listening. Clarify details with nursing staff if you forget or have questions. Ask to speak to the doctor if you have new questions. Write down questions to ask when your DR comes in or when going to the office so you don’t forget them. Get a second opinion any time you feel uncomfortable for any reason. As for who to see? Other than online and how you feel when you actually see the DR, ask a trusted healthcare professional (your primary), nurses, other friends in the area who they have used and what they think of the person. Are they competent? What is their bedside manner? Do they address concerns right away? Explain things in a way you can understand? Do you know anyone that had bad outcomes or situations with the healthcare provider. Also, I generally like nurse practitioners, they take more time with you. Listen better. Explain better. But that is just an opinion, and sometimes the special nature of the illness requires a DR anyway. Just some food for thought on that one.

Reply to: How to survive a nuclear attack Posted October 10, 2022

If you plan on leaving this hole open, would suggest either covering with a flat style N95 or a flexible tube attached to a Hepa filer. I have Hepa filters I put in a shop vac that are attached with a round opening (could connect with flexible tube). That might increase your safety margin….just a thought. Or go the really cheap route and do a damp bandanna. Anything that filters would be useful here.

Reply to: What our BOBs have evolved into, and are now becoming through NEED. Posted March 29, 2022

For my family, prepping means that there are no hard truths. Every part of the equation is a variable. We do not assume that we will all be together. Obviously, our unit is strongest when we are together, but any number of things could happen to split us apart. We practice skills together. My 6yr old loves to practice skills like making fire, etc….. and we do it as a family and sometimes have fun competitions. We also discuss scenarios where one parent or the other is unavailable. Our oldest son, who is 19 knows what is expected of him if both of us are unavailable. We do practice our escape routes together, we have a pre-determined meeting area. Each of the adults in our family is fully capable of taking the lead if necessary. We are blessed though, as my family has equal interest and shared values and goals. I will say we are still discussing scenarios where we would want/need to leave the country. Where would we go? How easy would it be to get out of the States? Considered placing money in foreign banks or starting an offshore account. All of our currency could be taken, devalued, or unavailable. Good to not have all your eggs in one basket. Has anyone else given this idea some thought? Interested in any ideas on this topic.

Reply to: Well use without electricity Posted March 23, 2022

Thank you so much for that. Have been discussing this with my husband. He is the brains of our operation. A journeyman in industrial maintenance. He understands all mechanical and electrical things. Unfortunately, My brain was not set up to understand mechanical/electrical principles. Being complete opposites, we complement each other though. I see some very sturdy pulleys there. Clearly an invaluable item. What are they called? The ones with two pulley’s and rope in between them? Each time that rope goes from one to the other it decreases the amount of force needed to pull an item right? We do have a strong tripod we could position over the well as well as multiple vehicles (ATV), and lastly we do have plenty of help (2 strong boys plus my husband and I). But would be interested in obtaining some quality pulley systems as I can definitely see how those would be invaluable for multiple applications in addition to pulling the submersible pump. Again thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with a newer family to preparing. I realized over some time that all the things we all take for granted can change in a moments notice. History has shown it time and time again. To not plan for those changes would be deadly. Self resilience should always be a priority. Dependence on government and utilities leads to some catastrophic consequences.

Reply to: “Reasonable” preparations for a nuclear conflict—picking a place to live… Posted March 22, 2022

Pops, I am praying your assessment is correct. My main worry is that Putin is not thinking clearly and is in fact delusional. Only time will tell. Our family will continue our preparations in the mean time.

Reply to: “Reasonable” preparations for a nuclear conflict—picking a place to live… Posted March 22, 2022

The White House issued a warning yesterday about Russian cyberattacks on the US based on intelligence they had gathered. I have a government job (VA healthcare) and we have been getting a steady stream of emails warning about cyberattacks. I am particularly concerned about EMP attacks with the current political atmosphere. With all the warnings, I feel something is in the works….and I worry EMP attacks would devastate the nation

Reply to: Well use without electricity Posted March 22, 2022

Thank you so much for the replies. For now, I plan on going with the well bucket. Very cost effective. Meets the needs of my family. I may invest in a similar well pump in the future. Again, thank you so much for the valuable information.

Well use without electricity

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Posted March 20, 2022