1-162 Medics Save Another Lifeby LT Fry on September 17, 2005 at 10:17 PMTwo medics get a tip and save the life of an elderly woman having gone without food or water since the hurricane hit. About midday on Saturday, September 17th, "Doc" VanHorn and "Doc" Stevens of the 1-162 Infantry Battalion, Oregon Army National Guard were checking in on a Traffic Control Point when they were approached by two local residents who had come back to the devastated New Orleans area to collect some of their belongings. The couple had noted while at home that their backyard neighbor, an elderly woman, had peeked out at them from her home. They were concerned for her welfare and asked that someone check in on her.The two soldiers responded to the address given to them and knocked on the front door. "Oregon National Guard, is anybody home?" No response. Going around back, knocking and calling out at the back door yielded the same. No response. As a precaution, they repeated knocking on the front door and calling out a third time. This time, according to "Doc" Stevens, "a couple of fingers appeared and separated the slats of some blinds, and then two eyes peeked out at us". At first, the woman, wary of all that was going on around her, didn't want to come out or let anyone in. However, after some discussion, she allowed the two soldiers to enter through the back door. Too weak to get the door open, "Doc" Stevens opened the screen door, then the back door and then entered a home that had once had nearly three and a half feet of water inside. At first, the elderly woman wanted simply to lie back down and take another nap; something she stated she had been doing frequently since the hurricane. At one point, she mentioned almost casually, the mattress she was laying on was actually floating around the room upon the rising floodwaters. Chairs had been placed on tables, and furniture had been pulled away from the walls, but other than the obvious damage from the flood, the house seemed to be in order. The sight was unusual for what has become the norm around this area. There wasn't the evidence of the cans, boxes and bags of prepackaged food, or empty bottles of water. Having gone without much of anything for food or water, the women had survived on wine and liquor for the three weeks since Hurricane Katrina and her storm surge flooded the Orleans Parish. She was able to walk around, but was fairly disoriented and wasn't aware how much time had passed since the storm. Having given her some water to drink, the "Docs" noticed that her dehydration was such that the water was irritating her throat. They estimate that she had lost at least 10 to 20 percent of her bodyweight in the three weeks from starvation and dehydration. It would only have been a matter of time before she would have been too weak to even leave her bed, then the inevitable. Still, she refused to leave her home for medical care or evacuation, stating "this is all I have, I can't leave it". The soldiers checked her vital signs and made sure she was doing better with some food and water. "Doc" VanHorn noted that "by the time we were leaving she had started sweating again, which she hadn't been when we arrived. That's a good sign". They left her with a couple of cases of water, a cooler of ice, and a case of meals, and promised to check in on her the next day. Initially wary of any governmental or law enforcement, she was very grateful and appreciative of the help she had received. Go Wildcats! | LT FryTop Stories
By Andy Sullivan
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Fast-rising water brought by the outer edge of Hurricane Rita spilled over a freshly patched levee in New Orleans on Friday and flooded a deserted neighborhood of the already devastated city.
Pack it up, move it out...Go, Go, Go!
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