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As many of you know, Rick travels with his work… a lot. He was in New Orleans the end of August, not only with its heat and humidity, but also with Katrina. As I was helping to move Ashley into her new college life at Millersville University , Rick was being evacuated from his hotel. He was on one of the last planes out of New Orleans , but that was not the last we would mingle with Katrina. We were leaving for San Antonio on Labor Day. Rick was working, while I was along for vacation; however, before we left, an email was sent out to all attending this conference, asking for volunteers to help at shelters. With Rick's history as a paramedic and mine as a nurse, our names were added to the list. We packed “work clothes”, ID and stethoscopes, along with my vacation things, just in case. As it turned out, Rick spent most of his time coordinating the schedules of the volunteers, the time frames they would be going to the shelters, and giving an orientation to those volunteering. He spent a lot of time on the phone reminding people of their appointed times, telling them the “who, what, where, and when”. The conference offered 3 shifts of volunteers from 6AM -12 noon , 12 noon -6PM , and 6PM -12 midnight . So, on our second night in San Antonio , we were headed to a shelter for victims of Katrina. We got on a bus that picked us up at our hotel lobby and drove us to KellyUSA, an airbase next to Lackland Air Force Base. Upon arrival there, we entered a huge office complex, and stood in line to register as Red Cross volunteers. From there we went to an assignment board, where we were listed as medical personnel, and were sent to the health clinic. The only problem was that the clinic “closed” at 4:30 PM , and I was wondering what I would be doing for the next 6 hours. After finding our way to the clinic, we spent the next half hour trying to find someone in charge. We came upon Susan, a public health nurse. She gave us the nickel tour; the clinic was closed, give out any over the counter meds that were requested, if it was an emergency, call the in-house medics, if it was something that could wait till the clinic was open, tell them to come back after 8AM, and if it was something urgent, sign them in for treatment. There was a strict no alcohol/no drugs policy. I was taught how to use an unfamiliar thermometer and glucose meter. Seemed simple enough. We saw about 50 people in the next 4 hours, and indeed, we did send non-emergencies away. Other than working in the ED for 20 years, I didn't have any real nursing experience in disasters. It seemed odd to tell people to come back in the morning, and it almost seemed weird to just dispense medicines; you have a headache and want Tylenol, here it is, you want Benadryl, here it is.” We saw several people with wounds, some with respiratory problems, several people with diabetes who needed their evening dose of insulin, and some that were dehydrated, requiring IV fluids. There was a large police presence; I even tried to triage a National Guardsman, who told me “I'm OK, I'm just here to see that you're OK.” With lights-out being at 9:30 PM , there was a decrease in the number of patients, but there was never a decrease in the caring and compassion showed by all of the volunteers that we met. The thing that impressed me the most was the everyday people who were giving freely of their time to care for strangers in need. It started with the past president, Art, of the National Association of EMS Educators, (NAEMSE), and Rick, who did the scheduling and phone calls, and it continued to everyone we saw at Kelly. The nurses, medics and doctors were truly there to help, “I'm free, is anyone ready to be seen?” was a phrase I heard often from the docs, and nothing was “beneath” them, if a patient needed an injection, they gave it, if a child needed some medicine, they got it. We may have spent time hunting for things, and were unable to answer all of the questions asked of us, but we could always find someone who could help. I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses, I'm sure there were many problems and issues that arose, but the amazing part was the everyday people who did the everyday jobs; registering the volunteers, preparing food, cleaning, carrying sick babies to the clinic, or rocking crying children at night. After seeing the evacuees and hearing their stories, our bus ride back to the hotel was filled with many thoughts of how thankful we are for what we have, and how truly blessed we are. Just as the residents of the Gulf coast region know, our community also knows full well that life can change in a split-second, and you can be left at the mercy and compassion of strangers. You don't have to be a paramedic, nurse, policeman or fireman, in order to help. How wonderful that we all have something that we can give to help those in need; be it prayer, food, clothing, housing, money, or that most treasured item of all-our time. As LUKE 10:27 tells us, “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” Take care ~ Linda |
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United Church of Christ 2005 |