- Joined
- Sep 4, 2003
- Messages
- 3,417
I posted this on our cruise thread - but felt that others needed to know a little first hand about what I saw and felt. I'm the Medical Director of an ER in Charleston WV. We received 3 planeloads of evacuees last night and have been told to expect 5 more today.
I was at our local airport until 2am last night - we received 3 planeloads of evacuees. I can't put in words how I felt - these people got off the plane with little besides the clothes on their back. They definitely had the "thousand mile" stare (shock, despair, no hope - unsure of the present let alone the future). They had flown 3-4 hours on a C-130 (4 engine military propeller plane). Most were in good health - we transported 2 to my ER. One was a grandmother with her 13 year old grandson. The hospital has adopted the grandson - very well spoken, wants to be a pediatrician. I know that it is culture shock - as all of the evacuees are african american - and nearly all of the medical teams, etc. are white (I think that the african american population in WV is around 3%). In the end though, we are all American. At times - we all had to laugh at the differences in our "Southern" language - we had to ask each other to repeat things on occasion. Throw a few Northerners (like me) into the mix and it was quite interesting. They are being taken to Camp Dawson which is in the Northern part of WV - in the mountains - beautiful country, but a million miles away from New Orleans.
I spoke to one man - he said he had never been out of Louisiana, said he always wanted to visit other places, including WV, just never like this. Children coming off the plane received a back pack full of toys, coloring books, etc. They brightened up immediately - ahhh the resilience of children.
If you haven't donated to the Red Cross - or the relief organization of your choice - do so now. There are many needs that need met - and it will be months before what we consider any sort of normalcy will return to the lives of our fellow Americans.
Virgil
I was at our local airport until 2am last night - we received 3 planeloads of evacuees. I can't put in words how I felt - these people got off the plane with little besides the clothes on their back. They definitely had the "thousand mile" stare (shock, despair, no hope - unsure of the present let alone the future). They had flown 3-4 hours on a C-130 (4 engine military propeller plane). Most were in good health - we transported 2 to my ER. One was a grandmother with her 13 year old grandson. The hospital has adopted the grandson - very well spoken, wants to be a pediatrician. I know that it is culture shock - as all of the evacuees are african american - and nearly all of the medical teams, etc. are white (I think that the african american population in WV is around 3%). In the end though, we are all American. At times - we all had to laugh at the differences in our "Southern" language - we had to ask each other to repeat things on occasion. Throw a few Northerners (like me) into the mix and it was quite interesting. They are being taken to Camp Dawson which is in the Northern part of WV - in the mountains - beautiful country, but a million miles away from New Orleans.
I spoke to one man - he said he had never been out of Louisiana, said he always wanted to visit other places, including WV, just never like this. Children coming off the plane received a back pack full of toys, coloring books, etc. They brightened up immediately - ahhh the resilience of children.
If you haven't donated to the Red Cross - or the relief organization of your choice - do so now. There are many needs that need met - and it will be months before what we consider any sort of normalcy will return to the lives of our fellow Americans.
Virgil
