We really need patients here. Come to the doctor please. The head bands are from the Lord of the Flies children in our kitchen. We all have them. The headbands, not the children.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Working with Ike
So today I'm working. Obviously not too hard, because I am writing on this blog. It's amazing to live in post-Ike. It's also amazing how quickly people become adapted to a new normal. Last night it got dark and I went to get a flashlight, even though our power was on. I had forgotten that our light switches worked again. It was dark, that means time for bed because there is nothing else to do. It will probably take a few days to get used to power again. The human spirit is resilient, and our brains are remarkably forgetful. At least mine is!
We were very blessed to make it through this terrible storm with our house mostly intact. And our yard was pretty much okay. I had a friend accuse me of cleaning my yard before I took a photo. We did have damage, but the plants are mostly okay. Two or three plants were uprooted. We staked them back down. They'll make it.
We are very blessed to have power back so early.
We are very blessed to have gorgeous weather this week. Low heat and low humidity; who can ask for more!
We are very blessed to have plenty of bottled water right now. We have our regular hurricane stash that we always have on hand this time of year, as well as plenty of bottles of water.
We are very blessed to have plenty of food to eat right now. Again, we have our regular hurricane stores of food, and the refrigerator was full of food. That may seem like a bad thing, but the office had power before we did, and we took our food to work and put it in the fridge here. Our pantry is overflowing.
We are very blessed to be working now. My office is open now, and we're seeing patients. Jeremy's part time gig is open now, and he's there helping them today.
We are blessed to be in a safe neighborhood, where, although we did sleep with the gun next to the bed one night, we didn't need it. There are still police everywhere.
We are blessed to know that our gas tanks are still quite full for the time being, and we don't have to wait in line for fuel. We still have several full cans in the garage, for when we start getting low.
We are blessed to know that when it was so hot and my dog had stopped eating and drinking because of the heat, we (and she) were welcome at a strangers home for the night for a hot shower and hot meal, cold air conditioning and cold refrigerators. We really needed that to recharge our batteries, and get her rehydrated.
We are blessed to have a water heater and oven that is gas powered so while we cannot drink the water, we can bathe in it, and allow the hot water to soothe our aching muscles.
We are blessed to know we still have the physical ability to clean yards that need it. I was wondering if my body could still do this kind of manual labor, and I can. Muscles are definitely complaining, and I have several new blisters to show for my efforts, but yards are clean and I was able to help those who needed it.
We are blessed with friends who will ask for help when they need it.
We are blessed with friends to work by our side as we clean.
We are blessed coming through this together as a family.
I am working in strange conditions. We have x-ray, but no lab. We aren't taking appointments, only walk-ins. Tetanus shots for everyone, including my sweet husband, who got his today. His injury included being bitten by our big cat, and now it's infected. The cat didn't do too well with the storm. Half of our staff has power at home, half doesn't. We're all a little distracted, and there are two single moms who nobody has heard from. I had to treat a guy today for broken collar bone, and I didn't have a DME store open for a brace for him. So I fashioned a figure eight brace out of ace wraps. For those whose eyes glazed over at that sentence, it's impressive, let me assure you. There aren't many places open for prescriptions to be filled. And, of course, I don't have a nurse. That pretty much goes without saying. Since all the schools are closed, the children of our employees are in the kitchen, and have turned it into a kind of pseudo-daycare. The portable DVD is fired up with free Willy, and they're cleaning out the ice cream that's left in the freezer. They set up rules for each other, and they posted them on the refrigerator. It's very Lord of the Flies. With minimal grown up supervising.
So there you go. We're very blessed and keep reminding ourselves that while it's mostly over for us for now, there are many people for whom this is just beginning. Please continue to keep those in your prayers. And thank you for your continuing prayers on our behalf. We really do appreciate it.
We were very blessed to make it through this terrible storm with our house mostly intact. And our yard was pretty much okay. I had a friend accuse me of cleaning my yard before I took a photo. We did have damage, but the plants are mostly okay. Two or three plants were uprooted. We staked them back down. They'll make it.
We are very blessed to have power back so early.
We are very blessed to have gorgeous weather this week. Low heat and low humidity; who can ask for more!
We are very blessed to have plenty of bottled water right now. We have our regular hurricane stash that we always have on hand this time of year, as well as plenty of bottles of water.
We are very blessed to have plenty of food to eat right now. Again, we have our regular hurricane stores of food, and the refrigerator was full of food. That may seem like a bad thing, but the office had power before we did, and we took our food to work and put it in the fridge here. Our pantry is overflowing.
We are very blessed to be working now. My office is open now, and we're seeing patients. Jeremy's part time gig is open now, and he's there helping them today.
We are blessed to be in a safe neighborhood, where, although we did sleep with the gun next to the bed one night, we didn't need it. There are still police everywhere.
We are blessed to know that our gas tanks are still quite full for the time being, and we don't have to wait in line for fuel. We still have several full cans in the garage, for when we start getting low.
We are blessed to know that when it was so hot and my dog had stopped eating and drinking because of the heat, we (and she) were welcome at a strangers home for the night for a hot shower and hot meal, cold air conditioning and cold refrigerators. We really needed that to recharge our batteries, and get her rehydrated.
We are blessed to have a water heater and oven that is gas powered so while we cannot drink the water, we can bathe in it, and allow the hot water to soothe our aching muscles.
We are blessed to know we still have the physical ability to clean yards that need it. I was wondering if my body could still do this kind of manual labor, and I can. Muscles are definitely complaining, and I have several new blisters to show for my efforts, but yards are clean and I was able to help those who needed it.
We are blessed with friends who will ask for help when they need it.
We are blessed with friends to work by our side as we clean.
We are blessed coming through this together as a family.
I am working in strange conditions. We have x-ray, but no lab. We aren't taking appointments, only walk-ins. Tetanus shots for everyone, including my sweet husband, who got his today. His injury included being bitten by our big cat, and now it's infected. The cat didn't do too well with the storm. Half of our staff has power at home, half doesn't. We're all a little distracted, and there are two single moms who nobody has heard from. I had to treat a guy today for broken collar bone, and I didn't have a DME store open for a brace for him. So I fashioned a figure eight brace out of ace wraps. For those whose eyes glazed over at that sentence, it's impressive, let me assure you. There aren't many places open for prescriptions to be filled. And, of course, I don't have a nurse. That pretty much goes without saying. Since all the schools are closed, the children of our employees are in the kitchen, and have turned it into a kind of pseudo-daycare. The portable DVD is fired up with free Willy, and they're cleaning out the ice cream that's left in the freezer. They set up rules for each other, and they posted them on the refrigerator. It's very Lord of the Flies. With minimal grown up supervising.
So there you go. We're very blessed and keep reminding ourselves that while it's mostly over for us for now, there are many people for whom this is just beginning. Please continue to keep those in your prayers. And thank you for your continuing prayers on our behalf. We really do appreciate it.
More Photos
I'm home. We have had power for about 36 hours now. Funny, going for 40 hours without electricity really makes you love your AC. Which we haven't turned on yet. It's really, really nice outside right now, so we're taking advantage of it.
I think there was a tornado in their backyard/neighborhood. One of the limbs that was down in the back there was twisted in a circle before it snapped. One of their neighbors heard two tornados during the hurricane.
The back gate Pappa said needed a little fixing was hanging on by 1/2 a hinge. Jeremy took it off entirely and laid it on the ground. 
Check out her blog here to see what else she had going on. Pray for her and their clean up tasks. They have alot in front of them.
This was a photo of the last of the storm. It was taken about 7:00 AM in tropical storm conditions, after we unboarded the back door. We could see the banana trees out the back fence through the night. They bent in half during the night, so we could see the top of the fence when the wind blew hard, and when the wind let up, we could see the banana trees lift a little. That was our wind gauge. 
It was raining pretty hard, but there were a few of us there. We had church outside because there was no AC or power, so we were under a breeze way. It was very surreal. We sang songs we all knew because we didn't want to get song books. We had communion on our brass plates, and some optimistic soul passed the offering plate. People wore whatever they had. Jeremy couldn't even think of wearing shorts to Sunday AM church, so he wore jeans. We did have to wade a little to get through the parking lot, because the drains had gotten clogged with debris.
Here are a few more pictures of our neighborhood with house damage.
McK House
I think there was a tornado in their backyard/neighborhood. One of the limbs that was down in the back there was twisted in a circle before it snapped. One of their neighbors heard two tornados during the hurricane.Im House
The back gate Pappa said needed a little fixing was hanging on by 1/2 a hinge. Jeremy took it off entirely and laid it on the ground. Pa House
Sh House -
Apparently they also had water damage inside their house. They will have to replace their wood floors for the 3rd time, and I am sure they're excited about that. A's play house is on it's side. It's not really usable now, but hopefully will be as soon as they get a little cleaned up.
Sm House - gutter damage
Check out her blog here to see what else she had going on. Pray for her and their clean up tasks. They have alot in front of them.My House - here's how we could see what was going on. Shine a flashlight through the gap and see what's going on in the little corner of my yard we could see.
This was a photo of the last of the storm. It was taken about 7:00 AM in tropical storm conditions, after we unboarded the back door. We could see the banana trees out the back fence through the night. They bent in half during the night, so we could see the top of the fence when the wind blew hard, and when the wind let up, we could see the banana trees lift a little. That was our wind gauge. This is generally how my neighborhood looked on Saturday AM. Many trees down, most fences down. A few roofs damaged in the front part of the subdivision.
Church Sunday AM
It was raining pretty hard, but there were a few of us there. We had church outside because there was no AC or power, so we were under a breeze way. It was very surreal. We sang songs we all knew because we didn't want to get song books. We had communion on our brass plates, and some optimistic soul passed the offering plate. People wore whatever they had. Jeremy couldn't even think of wearing shorts to Sunday AM church, so he wore jeans. We did have to wade a little to get through the parking lot, because the drains had gotten clogged with debris.The Impact Center had some roof damage. But no fire damage from the funeral home next door.
Neighborhoods on Saturday AM. They look MUCH BETTER now, with the streets passable. 
Sorry, Heather. I know you're anxious about your home. I wasn't able to get to it over the last few days. I hope you're able to get information on your house.
More later.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Photos
I am on a dial up connection and it is taking me forever to upload photos, but I know you're interested to know what your house looks like. I have uploaded one photo from each house - the worst case senario. One or two houses have two photos because of the damage. I hope to also include photos from church, but the building is alright. Jack Rowe's Dignity Funeral Home right next to church burned down to the ground this morning before church. LC finest tried to save it, but they couldn't.
Sm House
Sh House
Im House
McK House
Pa House
My House
Church
Jack Rowe Funeral Home
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Surviving Ike
This is Daesha's mom. It's 7 am Sat. She just called to say they don't have electricity but are okay. She'll post more later.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Hurricanes in Life
Okay, you'll have to forgive another post on hurricanes. But they've been on my mind recently.
This is not a post on an actual hurricane, however. Just thoughts on life.
Isn't it funny that sometimes life throws you a hurricane? You're be-bopping along and you see it. A thundercloud on the radar. Perhaps it's just a storm, perhaps something bigger. And you start preparing.
The little rain cloud gets bigger.
Soon it is an overwhelming storm, buffeting you from all sides, dragging you from everything comfortable and showing you what REALLY matters in life. What you MUST have, at the barest minimum, to survive.
There are eyes in those storms, too. Pockets of peace where you're reminded that God is still in control. I'm in that eye now, just as a physical hurricane threatens my physical safety. In fact, it may be because of that physical hurrican that I am in a spiritual eye.
I'm not sure that the storm is over. But I do get a merciful break from the constant hammering for a little while, at least.
Thank you for your continued prayers for all this mess.
This is not a post on an actual hurricane, however. Just thoughts on life.
Isn't it funny that sometimes life throws you a hurricane? You're be-bopping along and you see it. A thundercloud on the radar. Perhaps it's just a storm, perhaps something bigger. And you start preparing.
The little rain cloud gets bigger.
Soon it is an overwhelming storm, buffeting you from all sides, dragging you from everything comfortable and showing you what REALLY matters in life. What you MUST have, at the barest minimum, to survive.
There are eyes in those storms, too. Pockets of peace where you're reminded that God is still in control. I'm in that eye now, just as a physical hurricane threatens my physical safety. In fact, it may be because of that physical hurrican that I am in a spiritual eye.
I'm not sure that the storm is over. But I do get a merciful break from the constant hammering for a little while, at least.
Thank you for your continued prayers for all this mess.
Update on weather
At 5:20, 50 MPH winds started buffeting my house. So we completed the boarding up procedure, namely, sealing the back door and scouting the neighbors houses for stray litter they thought was harmless but I'm not so sure.
I am apprently a yard nazi, spying litter I fear may fly and harm my house and others. Today, I have stashed a for sale sign, front door mats (4), yard signs (2), hanging plant, sprinkler head, hose, and a potted plant. In other people's yards. So, no leaving junk for me to clean up. But if you're in too big a hurry when you leave, rest assured the Hurricane Fairy will finish cleaning your yard, and will stash your stuff nearby for you to find when you get back. 
I made Hannah go potty one last time for a while. The only way out now is through the garage. Our mean kitty got out and we had to chase him down. Fortunately, he is about 400 pounds and never turns away a snack. He doesn't move all that quick, either. He was not too hard to wrangle. The small kitty saw the fate of his (much) larger brother and decided that he should obey his benevolent captors and get himself back inside of his own accord. So we have all 5 of us safe and sound in the house.
We will continue to use the good sense God has given us to be careful. We are entertaining many of you who call us and tell us what a bad idea this was of ours. We appreciate your concern. We will certainly get a photo of the wave that washes over our house, the sitting on the roof for evacuation, and, of course, we will take plenty of photos from the helicopter, as requested. I will post those later.
Back to cooking dinner. Thank you for your prayers.
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