Hurricanes, outages, and the ER
Prepare in May, not the week the cone appears
Register with the county — every year
Florida maintains a special needs registry, administered locally by county emergency management, for residents who would need help evacuating or who require a shelter with medical support. In Miami-Dade, the evacuation assistance program is the front door. Two cautions families learn the hard way: registration is not automatic and not permanent — verify it each spring — and being registered does not guarantee transport on the day. Have a plan that doesn't depend on it.
If your child depends on electricity
- Notify your utility that a medically essential device is in the home. This flags the account. It does not guarantee power or priority restoration — plan as if it doesn't
- Know the true runtime of every battery, tested, not the number on the box
- Have a 12-volt inverter and a car with fuel; a vehicle is a generator you already own
- Ask your DME supplier now what they can deliver before a storm, and get the pre-storm order in early
- If you use a generator, place it outside and far from windows — carbon monoxide kills more people after storms than the wind does
The go-bag for a medically complex child
- Two weeks of medication in original labeled bottles, plus the printed med list
- Two weeks of formula, feeding bags, syringes, extensions
- Backup pump, backup suction, extra trach and G-tube of the right size, and the one size down
- Chargers, battery banks, a 12-volt adapter
- Three copies of the one-page emergency sheet, plus insurance cards
- Comfort items — the specific blanket, the specific headphones. Sensory regulation is medical care in a shelter
- Cash, in small bills
The one-page emergency sheet
Build one page that a stranger can read in thirty seconds. Include: diagnoses; baseline vitals and what "normal" looks like for your child; current medications and doses; allergies; airway and feeding details; devices with settings; seizure plan; how your child communicates pain; what escalates them and what calms them; specialist names and numbers. Tape a copy inside the front door and put one in every bag.
In the ERHand them the sheet before they ask. Bring your own equipment. Say clearly, early: "This is baseline for my child, and this is what's different today." You are the only continuous expert on your child in that room — a fact good ER staff will thank you for stating out loud.
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