firstmickey
Riddle Goddess of Chaos
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2002
- Messages
- 26,641
all the nurses, doctors, firefighters, police, paramedics...the list goes on and on.....
told by a nurse in LA....
We have almost 6000 homeless at the cajundome in Lafayette. I am just arriving home from there. The buses arrived in droves to drop people off during the night. They are arriving in the clothes they had on when the hurricane hit. They have been swimming in the dirty water, are soiled with urine and feces, and sunburned. Most had not eaten or drank in several days, much less taken there meds. (think: no psych drugs in addition to your normal diabetic and CV meds). They were picked up on I-10.
The buses that arrived at the cajundome last night had very sick people on it. They were dropped at the door. We had no Nurse Practitioner or MD to triage. The red cross is there but is only a band-aid station I am told. CIS had set up a clinic yesterday but it was closed when the buses started arriving during the night. Some refugees were unable to walk off the bus. I was on the phone with a doctor who was helping me to triage. I want to thank Dr. XXX for talking to me on the phone during those rough hours. Also thanks to Dr. XXX for responding to a panicked call from me to please come help (thanks to a UMC nurse who put me in touch with these physicians). Dr. XXX also arrived, more red cross staff (who apparently had been sleeping, I had no idea they where they were there, communication is strained due to this rapid influx of refugees.) The police and paramedics quickly responded once alerted to our situation. We knew there was a list of volunteers somewhere, but we couldn't find it. One lady was in active labor. One was having seizures. At least three had not had dialysis in a week, wheezing and SOB. Many had recently had surgery and had fresh surgical wounds, who had been in the water. We had one with 5 gunshot wounds (recieved before the hurricane), the sites were grossly infected, but he was stable. Many needed the restroom but couldn't walk to the bathroom. We did not have enough wheelchairs or assistance to get them to a restroom. You can imagine the outcome. We sent busloads of acute ill (not enough ambulances) refugees to local ERs. I believe some were also sent to another local shelter. We did not have blankets, pillows, or enough showers and clothes to help all these people.
God bless everyone affected by this tragedy and for the all the help that responded once they were alerted to our situation! I am praying that communication will improve among the many many volunteers who are there to help. Our Red Cross has been wonderful, but I am afraid they are understandaby overwhelmed with the situation.
I know there are many other shelters around Louisiana who are probably facing similar situations. We will get through this!!
told by a nurse in LA....
We have almost 6000 homeless at the cajundome in Lafayette. I am just arriving home from there. The buses arrived in droves to drop people off during the night. They are arriving in the clothes they had on when the hurricane hit. They have been swimming in the dirty water, are soiled with urine and feces, and sunburned. Most had not eaten or drank in several days, much less taken there meds. (think: no psych drugs in addition to your normal diabetic and CV meds). They were picked up on I-10.
The buses that arrived at the cajundome last night had very sick people on it. They were dropped at the door. We had no Nurse Practitioner or MD to triage. The red cross is there but is only a band-aid station I am told. CIS had set up a clinic yesterday but it was closed when the buses started arriving during the night. Some refugees were unable to walk off the bus. I was on the phone with a doctor who was helping me to triage. I want to thank Dr. XXX for talking to me on the phone during those rough hours. Also thanks to Dr. XXX for responding to a panicked call from me to please come help (thanks to a UMC nurse who put me in touch with these physicians). Dr. XXX also arrived, more red cross staff (who apparently had been sleeping, I had no idea they where they were there, communication is strained due to this rapid influx of refugees.) The police and paramedics quickly responded once alerted to our situation. We knew there was a list of volunteers somewhere, but we couldn't find it. One lady was in active labor. One was having seizures. At least three had not had dialysis in a week, wheezing and SOB. Many had recently had surgery and had fresh surgical wounds, who had been in the water. We had one with 5 gunshot wounds (recieved before the hurricane), the sites were grossly infected, but he was stable. Many needed the restroom but couldn't walk to the bathroom. We did not have enough wheelchairs or assistance to get them to a restroom. You can imagine the outcome. We sent busloads of acute ill (not enough ambulances) refugees to local ERs. I believe some were also sent to another local shelter. We did not have blankets, pillows, or enough showers and clothes to help all these people.
God bless everyone affected by this tragedy and for the all the help that responded once they were alerted to our situation! I am praying that communication will improve among the many many volunteers who are there to help. Our Red Cross has been wonderful, but I am afraid they are understandaby overwhelmed with the situation.
I know there are many other shelters around Louisiana who are probably facing similar situations. We will get through this!!
