So you wanna experience a Cat 3 or higher hurricane, eh?

[caribepr]

Reality versus ignorance (ignorance is NOT the same as stupidity...it is simply not knowing, willfully or not).
I agree with gerrit, as to living on small islands (and at 3 x 7 miles, Culebra is SMALL) and seeing what can happen, huge storms just hit me as *oh dear god* thoughts versus, oh the wonder. I LOVE a good storm, and thunder and lightning storms are rare around here. When they come, we'll talk about them all the next day. That is one thing. A hurricane that cannot be evacuated from and that threatens life and property to people you know and don't know but see every day...that is another thing.
Someone wrote in another post/thread...and I am loosely paraphrasing, if you don't stay around for the clean up, you haven't taken the whole ride. Which speaks to those only seeing the aftermath, or stormchasers who get the footage and bug out afterward.
No...I can happily let the word fish be my favorite seasonal word, and ache for those hit, even while extremely glad it isn't us. And if the day comes that it is us...well, if I'm around, I'll let you know what that is like.
For those who want a storm, I just read past it. It is like when those of us who are older couldn't wait to be *grown ups*. Now we know.

[Swimdude]

Somebody said William is 18 years old.

18 year olds don't understand death, unless they've been personally faced with a grave illness, war, or some other unusual event.

It ain't gonna help... the rest of us just have to put up with it.

This 18-year-old snarls in your general direction.

Don't generalize. Ever.

[Recurve]

Somebody said William is 18 years old.

18 year olds don't understand death, unless they've been personally faced with a grave illness, war, or some other unusual event.

It ain't gonna help... the rest of us just have to put up with it.

This 18-year-old snarls in your general direction.

Don't generalize. Ever.

Heck, even grownups don't understand death. Look at all the bad drivers.

[LaPlaceFF]

Been there, done that.

Me too.....and I got the t-shirt!

[brunota2003]

Somebody said William is 18 years old.

18 year olds don't understand death, unless they've been personally faced with a grave illness, war, or some other unusual event.

It ain't gonna help... the rest of us just have to put up with it.

This 18-year-old snarls in your general direction.

Don't generalize. Ever.

I second that...I'm 15 and understand death very well and have not had some unusual event occur...even though he only said 18 year olds, IMO it applies to anything 18 and under...

[Grease Monkey]

I guess when you turn 19, you magically become mature.

[Acral]

It is fascinating to know what is happening when a supercell/tornado outbreak begins, and heart breaking knowing the people who will suffer during and after it. It is the same with watching a massive hurricane spin up, sling 100 ft waves in the deep seas, and again, devasting in the knowledge that so many people are unprepared for the storm and the aftermath.

Ivan was a night storm here, and it was terrifying. Never again. But I will track these things, I will feel some elation as they spin up and that is mingled with dread as they approach my shores or anyones.

[Jim Cantore]

This is enough for me to get out of the way.

[beachbum_al]

Thanks for posting the stories. Very touching and sad at the same time.

[Steve]

>>I've been reading those articles on the NOLA website since they started coming out. I read through alot of the messages there also but couldn't find an answer to a question. This attorney general (Foti?) - I was wondering if he was in N.O. during and/or immediately after Katrina to experience first hand how bad it was?

I'm not sure. Attorney General Foti was the Criminal Sheriff in New Orleans for almost as long as I can remember. He retired and ran for state AG, so I'm assuming he was more likely in Baton Rouge. But I truly don't know. That whole trial is going to be an interesting study on a majority-Catholic population's feelings around the fringes of euthanasia. So far as I can tell, healthcare professionals (especially those who experienced the storm or did post-storm duty) are very in support of Dr. Pou as they understand and recognize and can relate to the hell she was going through and watching patients writhing in great discomfort in their death throes. I don't have an opinion on the trial as the facts have not come out. But I'm going to try to follow the headlines if Dr. Pou or either of the nurses happens to be formally charged with 2nd Degree Murder.

>>Thanks for posting the stories. Very touching and sad at the same time.

You're very welcome bum. I'm not sure how long the series will be - 5, 6 7 days? - but I'll post a link each day when I get a chance if no one beats me to it first. As probably most people know, the outcome at Baptist-Memorial didn't have many happy endings. So I expect that the story will be riveting the rest of the way through. I really enjoyed the three segments they've done so far, and you can see the chaos and desperation that's setting up.

And plus, I really thought it was germaine to the discussion and debates many have been having about storms. It's a look from inside 1 hospital and demonstrates how many of our worlds, sanity and lives crumbled around us (and will again in future storms here and in other places).

Hopefully everyone will read the story.

Steve

[SouthAlabamaWX]

Been there, done that.

Same here.

[fci]

Take a few minutes out of your busy day to follow along with the Times Picayune's ongoing story (they're up to Part 3) entitled:

For Dear Life - How Hope turned to despair at Memorial Medical Center

Memorial holds a special place for me as my 3 kids were all born there and my mother died there just an hour after I last saw her. This series will be a major award winning piece for the TP next year, take that to the bank. You can catch the story on their webpage (nolalive.com) or you can click the links as they go. My ex called me today after reading only Part 3 and said that she busted out crying. Of course she's a nurse as well and worked post-storm recovery at EJGH. Read if you can:

Part 1

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ ... xml&coll=1

Part 2

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ ... xml&coll=1

Part 3

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ ... xml&coll=1

With more to follow. FWIW, Memorial/Baptist was the place where the euthanasias allegedly occurred. I don't know if the series will touch on that or not because the attorney general's case is pending.

Comments?

Steve

Steve:
Please post the other parts of the series as they come available.
Can you use this same thread?

Thanks, it is fascinating, yet heartbreaking reading.

[Steve]

Absolutely. Apparently (based off the headline) today's installment continues as citizens step up to rescue sick and infirmed patients as the hospital sits in 8 feet of water. I haven't read it yet and don't feel like starting off my day shaken, but it's one of those trainwrecks that I just gotta look at. I'll edit the first post to also add this link.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ ... xml&coll=1

[Steve]

Today's story was a continuation but begins to show the panic and despair really setting in. But there's one part of this story (probably not unique to Katrina) that is an important lesson for those who want to ride out a major, and that's after-storm deaths. While I can't provide any links, there have been several people who have personally told me about elderly loved ones (parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents) who died in the aftermath of the storm (September through February). Those who were already suffering and frail but managed to make it out of the storm or make it through their initial evacuations later didn't make it (presumably due to the stresses caused by the chaos and tension). These numbers aren't official storm deaths, but I'd be willing to bet they easily outnumber the people who died directly in the storm and subsequent flooding.

This doesn't include the countless people left mentally wandering with uncertain futures like my dad who is 73. He has retired from the Deaconate (Roman Catholic) and is retiring from his law practice today. He lost everything (including my mom almost a year to date prior to Katrina) and is now coping with some of the depressions and anxieties of someone who worked hard and honest all his life but lost everything through no direct fault of his own. I'm just throwing this out there for those who believe the roller coaster ends as the power and water is turned back on to your home or dwelling.

Steve

[terstorm1012]

Having seen what the Cat 3's did last summer and fall, I can safely say whatever intellectual curiousity I might have had about experiencing one of those monsters is gone, gone gone.

that said I still want to move to Florida, but I'll be out of dodge when one of those puppies comes to play and FAST.

[Steve]

I invited "Chop" off of Saintsreport.com to come over to Storm2k and post. It's related to the thread in as much as he was at Memorial Hospital during the week following Hurricane Katrina. He's going to come over in alias, but hopefully will be able to recount some of his own personal experiences in that hospital (subject of the story) from the initial onslaught of the hurricane through meltdown. The only thing he's told me thus far was that he was sleeping one wall away from the hospital's chapel (which I always visited whenever I was there) which became the makeshift morgue and in which numerous deceased patients were placed awaiting recovery.

Steve

[NFLDART]

An expierience i never wish to see again, but then i wouldnt trade it for anything either.

[redmosquito]

[soapbox]

Inside most of us there lies a conflict. We want to experience the fury and the raw power of nature - to a point. We want the excitement, and the thrill of the storm. But what we don't want is such ferocity that the thrill becomes fear. But more importantly, what we don't want to deal with is the very real consequences - the price that is paid.

There is this point, and it is different for each of us, where the excitement of it all turns to fear - be it fear of death, destruction, loss of friends and family, you name it. Obviously those who have been through such ferocity, and through the aftermath will have a different perspective than those who have not, or have been though storms of lesser intensity. They are the ones who say "Never again".

[/soapbox]

Needs repeated.

I've not seen a more true statement on the subject, evar. Very well put.

[GulfBreezer]

An expierience i never wish to see again, but then i wouldnt trade it for anything either.

I lost everything I had ever worked for in my life due to IVAN in 2004. I lost all of my memorabilia and pictures that will never be replaced. I still watch storms and follow their progress but with a different angle than those who have not yet grasped the magnitude of tragedy these storms can wreak. Having been through all of that, it changed my life and for that I am grateful. As NFLDART stated, I wouldn't trade that in for anything. I was a good person prior to the storm and felt comfortable in my own skin. IVAN took that to a whole new level. I appreciate more, I love more and I laugh more. It is hard to imagine that such tragedy can literally make you a happier person but it did for me. There are still those who will always have sadness and regret and anger as part of a storms aftermath, but there is hope there too. It took me over a year to even be able to live in my home again, but we made it. Two years later, it is still not completed, but that is ok too. If a storm of that kind of destruction hits us agin, I know I will be able to handle it. I have no fear anymore, because I made it through hell and came out on the other side and the other side is beautiful if you allow it to be.

[temujin]

Somebody said William is 18 years old.

18 year olds don't understand death, unless they've been personally faced with a grave illness, war, or some other unusual event.

It ain't gonna help... the rest of us just have to put up with it.

This 18-year-old snarls in your general direction.

Don't generalize. Ever.

A person can't understand grief until they've lost close loved ones.

A person can't understand destruction until they've actually owned property and lost it.

There's an appreciation for life that only comes by living it. There's an appreciation for loss that only comes by having invested years in something to only see it go away.

I guarantee that however much you think you care about death now, you'll care more in twenty years, and care even more in forty years, and in sixty years death will always be at the back of your mind.

It's a natural process that takes time, time to invest years in something, time to see loved ones die, time to go through all the various things life has for us.