When the Power Goes Out
Last week started out on such a high. I had tickets to see R.F. Kuang speak at the Carnegie Music Hall, and get a book signed by her afterward. She was absolutely incredible! She gave us such a well put-together, thought out talk about her book, and about what it does - and what it should - represent. Plus, she was wearing a cape dress, which I was immediately obsessed with. It was such an amazing night, but weeknights out are tough for me right now, so I was feeling it the next day. I was very much looking forward to going to bed early on Tuesday night.
And then… right around 4:30, I was sitting outside for a little patio reading break, and things started to look ominous. My mom, sister, and I quickly headed back inside, and by 5 PM, the storm had come and gone, and left us with the power out. We didn’t know it yet, but it wouldn’t come back until around 10 AM the next morning. We’d spend the next 17 hours without electricity, which is not fun when so much of your life depends on it.
Living in Pittsburgh, with hills and trees, power outages aren’t uncommon after a storm rips through. Especially when you add in high winds, which this storm had in spades, things happen. But typically, it only takes a few hours for things to be back up and running. That’s what I figured it would be like after last week’s storm, too. The first sign that things might be different this time around was that I couldn’t even use cell data to check the power company’s outage map - everything was just down and not loading. The next sign was when I was finally able to log on and check the outage map… and saw that over 100,000 houses were without power. When I zoomed in to look at my specific outage, there wasn’t even an estimated time for restoration, just “TBD.” When we tried to call the power company to see if they had any better estimate, their call lines were so overwhelmed that we were just met with an automated recording that the lines were overwhelmed.
On the surface, this probably sounds annoying but surviveable - it’s still possible to go to sleep without scrolling on TikTok before bed. But for someone like me, who relies on so many pieces of equipment that use power, it’s actually a really stressful situation. In a normal day, I use my wheelchair (which has to be charged nightly, maybe every two nights max), a breathing machine sporadically throughout the day, my feeding tube overnight, and a different breathing machine overnight. And those are just the things that are absolutely vital! Each of these have some sort of battery backup, but how long they last for varies.
Not being able to charge your phone sounds annoying, but for me, it’s actually a safety hazard. When I’m in bed, I’m literally stuck there! I use my phone to call my parents or caregiver to let them know when I need something (and occasionally use the “drop in” feature on Alexa if my parents are sleeping and don’t hear their phone). But when I’m worried about my phone - or my parents’ phones - dying, it’s a lot more stressful than just not being able to see what my friends are up to on Instagram. It means that “trapped” feeling starts to feel a lot worse.
A few summers ago, after a power outage that lasted just a few hours, we picked up an indoor battery-powered generator - not nearly as powerful as an outdoor one, but a failsafe. So on Tuesday night around midnight, when we realized the power was not coming back anytime soon, we brought that up to my room in case my equipment died overnight while I was using it. Without knowing how long the power would be out, we didn’t want to deplete it too soon, so we left things on battery as long as possible. This is how I learned that on battery, my vent (the breathing machine I use overnight) beeps EVERY THIRTY SECONDS all night long. I can bet that whoever made that design choice has never actually had to use a vent overnight on battery, but that’s another story for another day. My feeding tube lasted all night, but my vent had to be plugged in sometime around 6:30 AM.
It was, by far, the worst night of sleep I’ve had in years. And when I don’t sleep well, it really affects my physically - it’s harder for me to move and even lift my arms, and it’s a lot harder for me to get a good, deep breath. So when the power finally did come back on a little before 10 AM, I was actually mid-cry, having a little breakdown over the combination of exhaustion and stress I had been feeling. They turned into tears of relief as the lights flickered on and I heard the AC start cranking into action.
I’m honestly still feeling the effects, and still physically recovering from just that one night without power. I know that there are people here who still haven’t gotten their power back - including people who use wheelchairs, in high rises with an elevator that’s still not operational. It’s almost unfathomable to me how stressful that must be for them. I know that other states (Ohio, Nevada, and probably more) have registries you can sign up for if you require life-sustaining medical equipment, so that they know to prioritize your area (within limits, of course) for power restoration. Pennsylvania doesn’t, and it’s a huge oversight. The uncertainty can be such a huge part of the anxiety and stress in situations like this - not knowing if you’ll be among the first or last to get power back.
For me, things are mostly back to normal now, though I feel a little twinge of anxiety looking at the forecast and seeing rain in the coming days. I’m already looking into an outdoor generator, one that can power more of the house and one that I don’t have to worry about conserving the battery of. And I’m slowly trying to keep getting rest and my energy back. I never would’ve guessed what 17 hours without power would take out of me!
Last Week on the Blog
What I’m Reading and Watching
I’m definitely in a bit of a slump right now, but I did have a freshly charged iPad when the power went out, so I finally finished the Ember in the Ashes series! I really enjoyed this YA fantasy - it didn’t feel super young, and I actually enjoyed the POVs of all the main characters, which is rare!
I also have convinced a few friends to read the Crescent City books, so I’m doing a re-read via Graphic Audio while they read for the first time.
What I’m Eying and Buying
I’m crossing my fingers that capes are back in style, because they’re one of my favorite “accidentally adaptive” style wins. This cropped trench cape is so cute (and on sale!), and if this denim cape was still in stock in my size, it would be mine.
I love little woven bags from spring and summer, and this one from J. Crew comes in the prettiest array of colors. I can’t stop coming back to the blue one!
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