Posted: 2/20/2008 5:46:01 AM EDT
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How would you change the way you prep and plan to bug out if you had a serious injury that was permenant? Long story short, I was told I would never run again, I have had two ankle reconstructions on the same ankle and have pain everyday and will for the rest of my life. Was told I would be luckey to be able to carry a 40 pd ruck. When I hike after one and half miles with a 30lb ruck on my foot is numb to my knee and is very painful after I get home and elevate and ice it. What would you change or do? |
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I'm in the same boat. I was in a head-on car crash in 1998 that left me with several blown discs in my neck, nerve damage, and partial numbness in my hads. I can carry 30 lbs for about 3 hours then the hands begin to go numb. I'm limited to 5 lbs on the left, and 10 lbs on the right for repititive motion. I bought an ATV. We live in a rural area, our odds of bugging out here are very low. I'm at home most of the time, and folks will be bugging out here if SHTF. If we have to go 'tactical' i'll be on defense as I cannot carry much of a combat load. If we need to go anywhere under such conditons, I'll be ATV mounted. In your case, strip it down to 20 lbs (water, ammo, weapon) and hike with that. Try to build up to sufficient weight to carry your standard loadout. I know it sucks. Sometimes survival is about making do with what you have. Improvise, adapt, and overcome.. Ops |
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l1a1man, So sorry about your injury. To answer your question, first I would not give up on rehabbing it. Try everything and everyone you can think of. I bet with enough work, you can get back at least some of what you lost. As far as preps go, obviously a bug out by foot is not possible. You might look at bicycles, quads, motorcycles, or horses as a back up BO option to your regular vehicle. You may also need to pack your gear and preps into smaller and lighter parts to help with loading up if you have to move it. I wish you the best at making your adjustments. David |
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First I think it helps to know, you're not the Lone Ranger and many of us out here have chronic illnesses. You simply learn to play the hand dealt you. That always includes learning your new limitations and living/planning within them. It typically means lightening that load, changing your pace (slowing down), and changing your gear (trekking poles). From a survival standpoint, the only thing that really changed is your priorities leaning more to riding than walking. This can also mean rural with a shift from hiking to off road vehicles. Sorry to hear about your problem. Tj |
There you go, good attitude! If you keep in mind from a survival standpoint, we'd all rather ride than walk then its a good idea to keep your alternate offroad ride versatile as possible as well as transportable by your primary on road vehicle. A mountain bike is pretty easy. On offroad bikes, I prefer a street/trail which also gives you the ability to legally ride pavement if needed. You know about all the EOTWAWKI movies are pretty stupid but all of them seem to have one or two aspects that are pretty interesting. When I think of this topic, I always think of the movie "Deep Impact" where at the end the main character is rushing around and through a mass exodus traffic jam on a motorcycle. What I like about the movie is it shows all lanes jammed and the medium. Anyone who has ever been stuck in a bad jam has seen the "Lemming" effect. As soon as one person tries something, everyone else follows. Its about the only aspect of the movie that has any survival merit but it does have its one moment. Tj |
I'm in a similar situation. Chronic sciatica and I just had to quit taking the medicine I took for pain for 2 years because I got tired of going to the hospital with kidney stones. Being limited physically just reminds you even more that you need to work smarter, not harder. Also, since bugging out(on foot or by vehicle) isn't very high on my list of plans, I don't waste too much time worrying about whether I can or not. 
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