BLACKOUT!!! Experiences and Tips on How to Cope

This will be a three-part blog. First, I will share my blackout experience plus those of three other Oahu families. Next week, I will outline some practical tips on how to prepare for power outage situations. The week following, I will discuss a common power replacements, mainly generators. At the end of these installments, I will ask you to share your thoughts on the topics in the "comments" section at the bottom of the blog because the main idea of these blogs is to exchange information and learn from each other.

I.

It happened unexpectedly the day after Christmas. This was a typical Friday afternoon at the UH Manoa campus during Christmas break. A few students in the Social Sciences building were hanging out in the 7-floor edifice while most were either on vacation or have already started their weekend. There was reportedly a thunderstorm raging outside but inside Britt's office, we were made oblivious by central airconditioning and window blinds. Moments before the blackout, we - Britt, Alpha (his student assistant) and I - were performing the last few rituals of a day at the office. Britt was listening to politico.com while Alpha was straightening his desk. As was my practice at the end of the day, I was in the department second floor bathroom, washing dishware used that day when suddenly, I thought I suffered a stroke and became blind! I could feel the cool water running over my hands but I could not see a thing! Abandoning the dishes in the bathroom and glad that I know I was still able to walk, I groped out into the hallway where there was some glimmer of light. Happy to note that it was the lights and not me that had gone blind, I walked to Britt's office. Inside, it was pitch black except for the tiny glare of Alpha's cellphone.

We moved Britt to the hallway where the emergency lights were on within the inside maze of faculty offices. Beyond the big open double doors of the maze, the yellow glimmer emanating from the emergency lights spaced farther apart provided some illumination. We heard loud footsteps and voices in the courtyard and stairwell. I could tell Alpha was as wary as I was. Darkness, loud noises and footsteps in the dark on a rainy night in a mostly empty campus can be a spooky combination. Within a few minutes, to our relief, Lloyd, a graduate student carrying a dim flashlight came by. None of us were sure of the campus security number so Alpha went into the office to look for it in the staff directory. When I got security on the phone, I asked for a couple of security guards to help us bring Britt down to the ground floor in his wheelchair. The lady kindly said they couldn't spare anyone as everybody was out responding to all sorts of alarms that were ringing throughout campus. They would only respond to emergencies. They didn't think Britt in his wheelchair marooned on the second floor of a dark building, accompanied by two women armed with only cell phone lights and a grad student with a dim flashlight, was one. I suddenly remembered that our son, Tom, was in nearby Kahala hanging out with friends, so I called him. Fortunately, he was with six of his Iolani buddies, and could come right away. Ten minutes of waiting seemed an eternity in the darkened hallway so I said I was going to get my flashlight, which I knew would be brighter than Lloyd's, from the van. Alpha, the city girl from Hongkong, would not let me go by myself so, replacing her high heels with a pair of flip flops and taking a big serving fork from our silverware drawer, she accompanied me down the really dark stairwell into the parking lot. We had left Britt in Lloyd's care.
The brightness from my trusty flashlight stabbing the pitch black of the parking lot was such a relief! Back upstairs while rescuing the abandoned dishes from the bathroom, we heard hearty laughter outside in the hallway. I recognized Tom's voice; it never sounded sweeter. When everyone got positioned, gently and slowly, several pairs of hands carried Britt down four flights of stairs. We met some friends in the stairway with whom we talked story, further relieving the tension of the last half hour. We finally got Britt into the van and soon, we were driving off through the unusually dark, a-bit- confused streets of Honolulu, with Alpha planning to drop her off in the safe company of her friends.

The island-wide blackout meant other people with ALS on Oahu were just as affected. Ken Ching described his and Sherry's experience in an email:

We were in Kaneohe when it happened. Went directly home and of course we could not get into our
apartment. I walked up and got her meds and whatever to keep her comfortable in the car. (We had to use Pali Momi's bathroom).When we were through using Pali Momi Hospital's bathroom we parked in their handicap stall for a little more than an hour. We had the security guard's permission- in fact they invited us to park there and said they would watch out for us. We left there after I started coughing - realizing I did not take my antihistamines and we drove back to the apt. I got my meds and Sherry's plus the things to make her comfortable. When I went back down the Security guards told us to park at the pool so we could use the bathroom if needed. I moved to the pool and parked. We did not have dinner and of course I was hungry- Sherry does not need much food. I went back up to get a snack and the emergency radio and the lights went back on at about 1030. I took the elevator down and moved the car to the front to take her up to the apt. Parked and then the power went off. I decided to stay in front and we camped there until 2:30 am when the power finally came on for good. Of course we slept most of the day. A little adventure when you consider that it could be worse when comparing it to being lost at sea. Here you are on land surrounded by resources and choke with people to help.



Rick and Mineko's experience was a little bit more concerning but turned out to be not too bad with help from friends and friendly (and buff!) firefighters. In an email, Rick wrote:

We had an exciting blackout experience as well. My wife, Mineko, wanted to work late, but I was kind of nervous about all the thunder and lightning and rain so she came home a little bit early. Five minutes after coming home, "poof" the lights went out. We thought we were prepared with my backup marine battery and also another backup battery for my BiPAP. We figured we had about 10 hours worth of electricity to run my BiPAP machine. We to do KSSK and realize soon that it was islandwide and after the last experience from the earthquake, we knew it might be 20 to 24 hours before power came back on. So, we knew we'd have to get to [the hospital] somehow. At the same time I had nurses and friends calling to check on me. Everyone suggested that we leave for the hospital as soon as possible and not wait until my batteries were almost drained of power. So we called the 911 service and ambulance and fire came within 10 minutes. The firemen put me in a chair and carried me down 17 flights of stairs. And ambulance, thankfully, was willing to take me to Kaiser Hospital. I know most of the people at Kaiser Hospital so they were ready for me when we got there. I spent a relatively comfortable night at the hospital. Mineko, unfortunately, had to sleep in the chair next to me. We finally came home using the "Five-star transport service" at around 5:30 PM Saturday. It was a long and interesting experience. We learned a lot and now realize that we probably need a backup generator and some kind of uninterrupted power source for my BiPAP machine. But we are safe and sound now and blessed that we had so many angels and caregivers looking out for us.

Lisa Yamaguchi's family had a more difficult experience. In a phone call, Dad Richard told me (I am paraphrasing here):

I knew Lisa's vent backup battery was broken. Earlier that month, I told the respiratory therapist that but told them no rush. When the blackout occurred, I immediately regretted having said that. We knew we had half an hour of power in the vent. So we called 911. The ambulance came and took Lisa and Jane (Lisa's mom) to the hospital. I followed in my car in the traffic. On the way, I learned that Lisa was refused admission at Pali Momi because their ER was overflowing. Same with Kaiser. Finally, Queen's admitted her but they said it was fortunate she had her own vent because the hospital has run out of them.


These experiences tell us that, in case of disturbances in the normal course of life such as a blackout, people like us have plenty of good stories to tell our friends and grandchildren. But, more importantly, we need to be prepared so we are not caught unawares.

In next week's installment, we will tackle "Things we should have done to prepare for a blackout, so we don't kick ourselves in the dark." Meanwhile, please share your "blackout!" stories...