I hurt, emotionally. I’m exhausted, physically. I’m disappointed in my government. I’m proud of people, everyday ordinary people, who have stepped up to the plate and handled things the best way they know how. I guess that’s it, in a nut shell. So much has happened and our lives have been changed forever. I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve never been good with the details. I’m a big picture kind of girl. But details are what are needed here in order to fully understand, so I will try.

Two facts need to be understood. First, no plan has ever been put into place to evacuate the city of New Orleans’ poorest, the people who would need it the most. It was known, and discussed, but, like strengthen the levees to handle above a category 3 storm, it was put off for lack of a final solution and money. Somehow, we let this happened. We all failed the people of New Orleans in this. And second, none of this would be at this level of devastation, had the levees held. People need to understand that fact. This isn’t about just the hurricane that came through. The levee breech in 2, and possibly 3 separate places did entire areas of New Orleans, and its residents in. This is where the bulk of the deaths and destruction occurred.

Our fair city, Baton Rouge, is now doubled in size. We were hovering at somewhere over 400,000 people, and are now close to one million. Our infrastructure is being stretched to its maximum capacity, and like the levees, just might not hold. It is impossible to travel anywhere, the grid lock is horrendous, and housing is desperately needed. Apartments are all rented and the housing market is moving quickly. Yesterday, there was not a house in the MLS listings for less than $300,000. I have no idea what this is going to do the job market and unemployement, only time will tell.

The medical community has responded like nothing I’ve ever seen. Our Department of Health and Housing, FEMA and Red Cross have been inundated with calls from medical professionals who want to come help, to the point where they can not respond, they can’t keep up with the lists of who wants to come and where needs help. I am not knocking these agencies, just stating the facts. This, in addition to helping to run our Stake Center shelter, is what Mandi and I have been doing.

Through some work and word of mouth, our names and numbers have gone out as someone to contact if you want to help. Mandi has embraced this with open arms and set up a command central in her home. That woman has a phone and is not afraid to use it. She has lists of medical professionals through out the country, mostly physicians, who want to come and help, and is compiling list of out lying areas where help is needed. We are working with DHH and with out them to help facilitate the red tape and get medical help where it is needed. She is also in contact with several medical teams here, who are backing up my mental health endeavors and our church shelter. In a nut shell, Mandi tells us where to go and we go.

We had a family doctor from Wisconsin and his assistant actually practicing out of the stake center for the last 2 days, (thank you Dr. Barry). And a psychiatrist flying in from Idaho tonight to work with a team of doctors at Jimmy Swaggart’s college and back up my mental health efforts. In addition we plan to go into Washington Parish next week with a team. Communication there is still sketchy, so we are not sure exactly what we will find, but Mandi has been in contact with some local offical’s. We will do what we can. We have learned of woman and her 17 year old daughter who is pregnant and due and day, staying in a trailer without electricity in that Parish. We hope to bring them out to stay at mine or Mandi’s house and be closer to medical attention for when the time comes. We only hope they will be willing to leave with strangers.

It has been a busy few weeks, and the coming week promises to be busier. I have hopes things will start to settle down after that and we can simply facilitate the medical teams and see my regular and new clients. You know, form some sort of sense of a new reality, a new normal. I really do crave that.

I also want to mention that Mandi keeps saying she is nobody, just a SAHM, and I’m the one with the title, but she has done more than any somebody I’ve seen. Like I said, I just go where she tells me to, and I certainly couldn’t go, if she wasn’t watching the cherubs. Did I not mention she has been doing all this with 5 children under the age of 5? Second, I would really like to thank our families, particularly our husbands, and kids, whose lives have totally been disrupted by all this. We have had strangers in our homes, the kids haven’t gotten the attention they deserve, I have been working a lot of hours, and our husbands have had to take on a lot more home duties, in addition to they’re 40 plus hours a week jobs. So thank you DRY, Inc. and Little Miss households. We couldn’t do all this without you.

*Jeff, thank you, really, for putting up with all the Louisiana Pink Cross efforts, as you’ve taken to calling our endeavors.

posted by Erika at @ 9:16 am | 9 Comments