Hannah Giffin needed oxygen. The 24-year-old who was recently diagnosed with four chronic illnesses relies on an oxygen concentrator to help her breathe, but when the power went out Tuesday in San Marco, Texas, she was forced to ration her oxygen."It's been emotionally exhausting," she said. "Not knowing if we’re going to have power to supply my ability to breathe is terrifying."No emergency services could refill her oxygen tanks, and because her lung disease puts her at high risk for COVID-19 going to the hospital wasn't an option. Feeling isolated and hopeless, she and her mother, Kristin, turned to social media to try to get a generator or oxygen tanks from FEMA."My husband and I were just beside ourselves," Kristin Giffin said. "We can’t sleep because we’re thinking about what happens to her if her oxygen runs out."Freezing temperatures and winter storms have caused widespread power outages across the country leaving people with disabilities and chronic illnesses scrambling to find ways to access life-saving medical supplies and charge devices they depend on. For people with disabilities and chronic health conditions, losing power can "be a matter of life and death," according to Jane Buchanan, acting director of the disability rights division at Human Rights Watch. Earlier in the week, more than 4 million in Texas alone didn't have electricity after large shares of the state's power plants were kicked off its grid. More than 1 million people were without power Thursday, including more than 400,000 customers in Texas and widespread outages in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Oregon. The winter weather has claimed as many as 36 lives this week, some of whom died struggling to find warmth inside their homes. Older people, people with chronic conditions and people with disabilities will likely be disproportionately impacted by the outages, advocates say."Losing electricity just exacerbates the inequalities that already exist for marginalized people, but specifically for those that are energy-dependent, transportation-dependent, healthcare-dependent," Stephanie Duke, an attorney at Disability Rights Texas said. "It's the mechanisms and processes we have in place that create more barriers."The disability community has a diverse set of needs that could be impacted by the loss of power and water. Electricity is needed to power medical devices like motorized wheelchair, CPAP machines and respirators. Poor weather can also prevent people from getting refills for essential medication and caretakers from reaching patients. In Texas, while larger hospitals and facilities are fairing better, people who live alone or in smaller nursing homes and assisted living facilities are stuck without supplies, Duke said. Duke, also a disaster resilience fellow at Equal Justice Works, said that Texas has seen huge demand for generators, oxygen and transportation to warming centers.
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