Bug Out Bag - success
 

I have a small BOB I've used a few times. It's actually a child's backpack; black nylon, several compartments. It did around 20,000 miles on the back of my Suzuki in its role as a tailbag. It had the usual stuff - earplugs, first aid kit, wet wipes, bag of quarters, Leatherman tool, glasses/face shield cleaning supplies, an aluminum plate on a lanyard I could slide under the kickstand and loop over the clutch lever when on soft surfaces, etc.

From time to time the bag had its contents rearranged a bit and went along on road trips in cars, and once to the hospital with me when I had kidney stones.

Last Thanksgiving I got a midnight call from my Dad's housekeeper; "come now." Dad was 83 and in declining health. I tossed my 7-inch Android tablet in, a spiral notebook, and a couple of paperback books. And then spent most of the next two weeks sitting in a chair by Dad's bed as he fought his way out of a massive stroke. Two weeks ago he had the first of a new series of strokes. In his last lucid moments he wanted to go home, so when the doctor said there was nothing they could do - they had discovered several aneurysms, blood clots, and lung cancer, all inoperable - they sent him home via a hospice outfit. He lasted two days, and passed quietly in his sleep this afternoon.

Four and a half weeks wedged into a hospital chair is close enough to SHTF for me. The properly-equipped bag helped a lot. I spent a long time in a chair near Dad's bed, as the hours turned into days, then weeks.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Its good to hear that his wish to go home was made possible.

Sorry for your loss

I will send prayers

Sorry for your loss TRX; Sounds almost exactly like my dad this past April. Except he never made it home. He was 82 & collapsed at his sewing machine . Still doing custom car interiors.
I have made it very clear to my wife ,that I want to die at home. No stinkin nursing home or hospital.
It just does not get much worse than losing your dad.

Bummer. My old man is also in his 80s and he's starting to get more frail everyday from what I can tell. Just getting prepared for when his time comes.

Very sorry to hear of your loss TRX.
May your Dad R.I.P..

Sorry to hear this, my thoughts are with you

Sorry for your loss TRX. I lost both my folks in the last 2 years also and it's tough. My Pa passed in his sleep , but Mom was home on hospice too so I can relate to the long hours by her bed side. May the Lord comfort you in these times.

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

The entire family was with him when he went, and it was probably about as peaceful as it gets.

Fortunately he'd made his wishes about not being kept on life support known, and there were no problems with moving him from the hospital to hospice. However, I'm going to make that trip to a lawyer that I've been putting off for years, to get something official drafted up for my wife and I. And I'm leaving a "medical power of attorney" with a friend, in case my wife and I both wind up flatlined by a car wreck or something. We'll be holding theirs, too.

It was a wake up call for me too being the oldest in the family now. I got most of my affairs in order now too. Just a few loose ends left now.