Residents worried as they can't access medicine, supplies
Stephanie Milkika'a isn't sure when she'll get chemotherapy again.
Milkika'a has breast cancer and was only two weeks into treatment when the blizzard hit her Running Springs home. While while Milkika'a is due for treatment Thursday, like many others in the San Bernardino Mountains, she's snowed in and unable to leave except on foot.
She contacted the Sheriff's Department who suggested she take a shuttle from a local shelter — which she'd have to walk to — but said it's not feasible as a cancer patient.
“I can't do that because my white blood count is so low that I was told to stay away from people,” Milkika'a explained. “That's not really an option.”
Milkika'a said she has already had delays accessing other cancer medications, but with the date for chemo nearing, she's growing increasingly uneasy — with few options left to access her care. And if she leaves home to take the treacherous journey down the mountain, there's no guarantee she'll be reunited with her husband.
“I don't want to be at some stranger's house after my next round (of chemotherapy) going through whatever it is I'm going to go through,” Milkika'a said. “I just want to be home in my own bed with my husband who takes care of me.”
In Lake Arrowhead, Rebecca Arrowood's diabetes supplies were due for delivery Saturday. But they never arrived.
She needs glucose sensors to keep track of her blood sugars, but roads piled high with snow mean no trucks can come through — and she can't get out.
Following the county's guidance, Arrowood called the local emergency hotline but described a cumbersome system that didn't leave her feeling clear about whether she'd receive help.
“I just kind of gave up on the county like it wasn't going to happen,” she said.
After Saturday's missed delivery, Arrowood called again but still hadn't heard back — though the second go-around left her slightly more optimistic, she said.
San Bernardino County spokesperson David Wert said in an email that people who cannot access “essential
medications or other medical care” should call the emergency hotline at 909-387-3911. San Bernardino County Fire Battalion Chief Mike McClintock echoed that guidance and urged using 911 for acute emergencies.
In the meantime, Arrowood is managing what variables she can.
“I'm being careful of what kind of food I'm eating,” Arrowood said. “To keep me from (needing) too much insulin, I'm eating less carbs, which is really sad but it's just what I have to do to conserve.”
Arrowood's neighbor Michael Wyatt, who has lived on the mountain for more than 40 years, is quadriplegic. He said he's running low on catheters to use the bathroom; without them, he's at risk of developing infections. He also needs water-resistant tape to prevent getting ulcers from showering.
“My medical supplies (didn't) arrive for the month of February because of the storm,” Wyatt said. Like his neighbors, Wyatt hasn't been able to exit his home for several days. And if he needed to leave, Wyatt explained, using a wheelchair outside wouldn't be possible in the heavy snow.
“They would probably have to put me a toboggan or a sled or something like that,” Wyatt said. “There's just no way my wheelchair could go. I haven't been out of the house since it started snowing.”
Linda Thoemmes said from her Runnings Spring home that she has been experiencing withdrawal from her antidepressant medications since she ran out Wednesday. She has felt a barrage of symptoms, including severe nausea and dizziness, but is trapped inside her home.
Thoemmes said she called the county's hotline and Supervisor Dawn Rowe, but hasn't received any assistance from authorities other than the fire department, which offered to take her down the mountain. That isn't feasible, she said, because there's no guarantee she'd be able to get back to her pets at home.
“Anyone who picks up the phone is nice, and that's all good and well, but there's no coordination to all these efforts,” Thoemmes said.
She called her local Walgreens for assistance with her prescription but was referred to corporate.