This is part of an e-mail I just recieved from a friend. Still waiting to hear from/about others...
> >Most of you may know that my daughter Andrea lived in New Orleans.
> >As a health care worker, she stayed behind because she could stay at
> >the hospital and help out. I had not talked to her since Saturday,
> >although I had heard reports via other relatives who had spoken to
> >her.
> >
> >Andrea and I finally talked this AM. She is at her friend Eric's
> >house in Houston, having arrived last night. She is dealing with
> >considerable psychic trauma along with dysentery and probable
> >infections. She indicates that three times she was on the last
> >boat, ambulance, or plane leaving a distressed area. She was able
> >to get out because she is a medical professional and in some cases
> >was accompanying patients. Her boyfriend is with her and has his own
> >issues with being diabetic and having panic attacks. Both have
> >received appropriate medications and medical treatment.
> >
> >She had gone to her home in the time between the hurricane and the
> >levee failures. Things were already drying out. She says she fell
> >asleep and woke up at 2:00 AM in a pitch black situation, put her
> >feet down and found water in the house. She headed back to the
> >hospital where she worked. She indicated she waded through endless
> >debris and downed wires, so frightened she was thinking she saw
> >alligators and sharks. Then looters appeared and she says she is
> >positive they fired five shots at her as she swam in water that by
> >this point was over her head.
> >
> >She got back to the hospital finally and was immediately taken to
> >the ER and treated for shock. She is particularly traumatized by
> >the fact that as the hospital was evacuated five of her patients on
> >DNR orders were simply left behind to die. I understand triage, but
> >you would think human kindness would have intervened to at least
> >engage in euthanasia. We cannot kill anyone, but we can walk away
> >and let them die and that is better? Who knows what happened to
> >them and how long their deaths have taken, or if they are even yet
> >dead?
> >
> >When the boats got her to the staging area it was a medical
> >treatment and triage area. Since she was medical and had patients
> >she was okay. Others were kept outside while they clamored for food
> >and water. She said a stream of ambulances that amounted to 500
> >(that's what she said) were coming through and taking people to
> >Baton Rouge. As she got in the ambulance with her patient shots
> >began breaking out from those seeking water and food. The
> >evacuation was shut down just as her ambulance pulled away.
> >
> >She then got to an AF base and was put in a cargo plane and headed
> >to Houston where Eric picked her up. She is heading from Houston to
> >her mother's in North Carolina.
> >
> >We are as a family standing by to provide what help we can. She has
> >experienced what those of us who know war zones have seen. It takes
> >a toll on you.
> >
