Wow, SewingSew, that must have been pretty scary! So glad you healed well. Canning lids were hard to find where I live as well (in the Finger Lakes). The Mennonite stores started selling ones they would buy in bulk and repackage to 10 or 20. No brand, but they worked.
When we lived in Syracuse, I had a friend who was shocked that we could easily make things. She'd just never been exposed to anything not packaged from the store... She truly had no idea that you could make something like strawberry jam. For me, a country girl who was in 4H for over 10 years, I was shocked that anyone didn't know, lol