September 07, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

After the deluge

by Marc Burkhardt, Bill D'Agostino, Jocelyn Dong, Alexandria Rocha and Jay Thorwaldson

As the water begins to recede from New Orleans, a frantic push to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina grows.

Over the Labor Day weekend, Palo Altans mobilized resources to send food, medicine, clothing and funds to the hundreds of thousands forced to abandon their homes. Among the more notable efforts, a Palo Alto High School instructor gathered 30,000 pounds of goods for transport to the Gulf Coast.

Some traveled to the overwhelmed area personally to provide medical and psychological support.

"People are totally devastated. They have lost everything," said Palo Altan Janie Patterson, a registered nurse who flew to Houston Sunday to care for flood refugees.

The following are but a few examples of how Palo Alto and surrounding communities have responded to what some are calling the greatest natural disaster to ever hit American soil.

Call to action

Veteran's Affairs nurse Janie Patterson was ironing her scrubs at home when she received a call last Thursday to join an emergency-relief team within 24 to 48 hours. A disaster veteran, she already had her bags packed.

"I'm just kind of excited to get in and help people," said Patterson, who normally works with heart patients She admitted to being glued to the television since the hurricane hit.

This past Sunday at 6:15 a.m., Patterson found herself on a flight bound for Houston, connecting through Phoenix. When she arrived in Texas, the Houston assistant chief of police met Patterson at the airport and took her and another nurse to the command center at the Houston VA Medical Center.

"They were so glad to see us," she said. Immediately, she dove into the work -- triaging patients, attending to wounds and assessing people's mental health.

After a quick night's sleep at a Holiday Inn, Patterson was back at the hospital at 6 a.m. Monday.

Hurricane survivors, dazed and exhausted, filled the overflowing hallways. Many had come from New Orleans. Most were receiving their first medical care since Katrina had unleashed her fury a week before. Quite a few were dehydrated. Others barely had clothing on their backs.

"They're everywhere. ... It's organized, but it's still mayhem," Patterson said.

"Some of the stories, they're just wrenching," she continued. Her patients told of being swept off in the floodwaters; others of having to beat back snakes. Yet others spoke of watching helplessly as their loved ones drowned.

Monday she treated a man who had been clinging to a tree during the hurricane and had broken his arm when the tree snapped. Parts of the branch were still embedded in his arm, and his legs were also injured.

"He was crying and weeping. His family was totally lost. He didn't know where they were," Patterson said.

With some difficulty, the nurse was able to clean his wounded arm, but an X-ray showed it was already starting to heal crookedly. The staff would probably have to break it again, and reset it. He'll probably get multiple infections, she said.

"It was just a mess for the poor guy," she said. Fortunately, the command center was able to locate the man's wife, who had ended up in a hospital near Shreveport, La., but was in guarded condition.

With patients by the thousands continuing to arrive, the medical staff is working as quickly as possible. Patterson put in a 14-hour shift Monday attending to more than 150 people.

"It's not even the tip of the iceberg," she said that evening, as she awaited a bus that would take her and her colleagues back to the hotel.

At the end of a shift, there are debriefings for the staff to help them cope with the traumas they're treating.

"Sometimes it really hurts to see people so bad off," Patterson said. "Everyone has a different way of coping."

She already knows it may be difficult to leave at the end of the day; the need is so great. In fact, Patterson may start working the night shift, or be sent to Ellington Field, a joint use civil/military airport where more hurricane victims are being housed.

"Have stethoscope, will travel," she joked.

As tragic as the situation is, however, Patterson felt the response team was "phenomenal. Everyone's working together." Her three hotel roommates are nurses who came from around the country to help.

In 1992, the nurse volunteered for nearly six weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, triaging and treating the wounded and attending to the distraught. In that case, the team mobilized so quickly, the rain was still falling in Florida. U.S. Army soldiers were scrambling to put up fencing to provide shelter while treating the wounded. When a tent blew over, they moved the patients to concrete blocks.

All throughout Houston, hotels, businesses and houses of worship have posted giant signs offering aid: "We're here for relief," one sign said.

"Everyone's trying to help everyone. It gives you a warm feeling," Patterson said.

Kerri Childress, spokeswoman for the Palo Alto VA, said that Patterson is one of 750 volunteers from the VA system nationwide who have signed up to help. More would be willing to go, but the administration needs some medical staff to stay at the hospitals to care for the veterans. Some remaining staff will work double shifts to cover for those who are helping with the relief effort.

"That's always a challenge," Childress said. "It's important to recognize the people covering. They're helping in the effort. If they weren't capable of covering for nurses leaving, the nurse wouldn't be able to go."

A teacher and a truck

Swarmed by students who wanted to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, Paly teacher Leigh Cambra launched a plan last week to transport supplies to the Gulf Coast.

Cambra's family owns a Mountain View-based moving and storage company, so she looked into whether any of the truckers could aid a relief project.

It turned out that one of the company's longtime drivers, Jimmie Dulaney -- who is also a family friend -- had arrived in the South Bay Friday delivering a shipment from Minnesota.

Dulaney planned to head to his hometown of Gulfport, Miss. Dulaney's family evacuated their house in Gulfport, which is about 80 miles northeast of New Orleans. The town sits on the Gulf Coast and has suffered looting and unsafe living conditions as a result of the hurricane.

"I said why don't we see if we can fill it and take it back," Cambra said.

In an e-mail to Paly staff, Cambra, who teaches home economics, put out a call for action. She asked for donations of food, water, sleeping bags and blankets.

Cambra and Dulaney held donation drop-offs at Paly Friday and at Thomas Transfer and Storage's headquarters on Leghorn Street in Mountain View Saturday.

The response was overwhelming.

Students, teachers and community members filled the truck with 30,000 pounds of goods -- from small items such as bedding, towels and diapers to larger goods such as generators. Cambra said a lumber company in Santa Cruz donated tools and other construction materials. People from across the South Bay who had received a copy of Cambra's initial e-mail donated carloads of goods they bought at a nearby Costco.

"It was just a little thing like an e-mail that totally ballooned. It showed how much the people in this community wanted to come out and buy stuff," Cambra said. "You can do a little bit and really affect these people later. The littlest thing can really make a big difference."

Cambra and her mom spent Saturday sorting and boxing the goods. Dulaney left Mountain View Sunday and arrived in Jackson, Miss. Tuesday, which is about 160 miles north of Gulfport.

Cambra said Dulaney planned to head into Gulfport in a few days. He will deliver the shipment to a local church where the items will be dispersed.

Even after such an overwhelming response, Cambra remained humble about her efforts.

"We're not the Red Cross; we're just a bunch of people who wanted to get things together to help out," she said.

The bigger picture

Spurred by devastating "images I'm seeing of my hometown," Keith Schneider of the Stanford Land Management Co. is trying to find ways to help.

"People I know and grew up with are struggling and suffering," Schneider said of the frustration that has motivated him to set up a direct community-to-community system for disaster relief.

Schneider, 26, has been with Stanford for about a year as a "real estate associate," following three years in New York. He is a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans -- which seems to have escaped the worst of the Hurricane Katrina damage but still had to send incoming students home or to other universities or colleges, he said.

"I don't think anyone in their wildest imagination was prepared for this," he said.

"When I was growing up, there was always a story going around about how New Orleans, being below sea level, could cease to exist if a major storm came right up the Mississippi -- but we never really believed it. People had lived there for hundreds of years," Schneider said.

There was also the question of how the region could really prepare for such a disaster: "How do you raise the resources to build a levee system to withstand such a storm?" he asked.

In hindsight, it would have been a good investment, he agreed.

He was raised in Metairie, the largest suburb of New Orleans, which flanks the canal where the main dike failure occurred. The most severe flooding occurred across the canal, however, he said. His fiancée, Lauren, whom he met at Tulane, is also from Metairie.

While his immediate family has been accounted for, there are relatives (including a grandmother) from whom no one has heard. Schneider flew to Houston, Texas, Friday to join other family members and develop plans for how the family can rebuild after the disaster. His mother, a nurse, remained behind working at a local hospital before joining his father in Baton Rouge, he said.

Schneider said he was encouraged by President George W. Bush's pledge to rebuild the city. "I just hope he stands by his word," he said.

But that resolve will be tested over the many months it will take to rebuild not just New Orleans but other communities in the region, including Mississippi areas that were equally devastated -- many far from the Gulf.

He is considering a program in which people would adopt a community. The concept could help sustain a longer-term commitment, especially from prosperous communities with firms that could provide high-tech assistance with communications infrastructure and other specific needs. Other rebuilding projects could be sponsored in school programs, homes and community services, he said.

"What I set out to do is make a difference," Schneider said. While people are suffering there, "I'm out here with this beautiful, sunny climate, with great people around me.

"But we all need to realize that this is a huge disaster that will affect all of us in many ways for a long time," he said.

He said New Orleans has long had a reputation for being "first in charity" -- the community donated a fire truck to New York after 9/11 to replace one that was destroyed, and organized "Operation Gumbo" to help feed rescue workers.

Now, he said, the region needs the help and "it's our opportunity to give back," he said.

Schneider said until this week he had never even read a Web log, or blog, but he has now created his own: http://helpneworleansnow.blogspot.com. He said a colleague at Stanford, Jean Snider, director of the Stanford Research Park, suggested creating a blog to outline his direct-aid concept.

"The responses have been pretty incredible," he said. "A person I know in Hong Kong sent (the blog address) to relatives in his native Mexico, and they sent it on to friends in Chile."

Healing voices

The voices are desperate; Geoffrey and Ann Ziman are there to listen.

Twice last week, the Palo Alto couple went to Oakland to receive telephone calls for eight hours to the Red Cross' national hotline. Most of the callers were those seeking lost loved ones.

"What can you do?" many asked. "Regrettably at this stage, the answer is not much," Geoffrey said. "I tried to tell people realistically what the situation is."

Even that is comforting for the callers though, he said. "Just listening to their stories is helping. They wanted someone to talk to and wanted some sort of reassurance."

The most desperate pleas came from those who had fled New Orleans but left family behind. Other callers were evacuated victims running out of resources.

"I had some bad calls but I was warmed by the feeling of, 'I'm helping people,'" Geoffrey said. "We'll probably be going as long as it's going to be needed."

The Zimans also went to the Palo Alto Area American Red Cross' headquarters Thursday night to educate and train 50 potential volunteers. They didn't sugarcoat the reality of the horrific situation; for instance, volunteers need to be able to lift 50 pounds for long hours and sleep on floors, Geoffrey noted.

"We need fit people who can stand rough conditions," he said.

As of Monday, the Palo Alto Area American Red Cross sent 18 volunteers and one staff member to help affected areas, including Miami, Baton Rouge and Houston, according to Executive Director Trish Bubenik. She expects another group of local volunteers to leave soon.

Bubenik added the local chapter has collected more than $401,634 for disaster relief.

"Just this weekend alone, mail and donors coming to our office which we kept open from 9-5 each day, brought in $38,843," she said, adding that another $4,389 was raised at a Stanford Shopping Center event.

"I am moved by the generosity of the diverse members of our community," Bubenik said. "People thank us for taking their contributions, and we genuinely thank them for caring and sharing at this tragic time."

One of the volunteers from the Palo Alto chapter is Katie Hubner, a 23-year-old San Francisco resident. On Friday, she was driving an ERV -- an Emergency Response Vehicle -- to Baton Rouge, accompanied by another Red Cross volunteer from another chapter.

Talking on her cell phone about 75 miles outside of Shreveport, Hubner wasn't sure what their destination would be. Feeling like a "super spy," she's been regularly calling an answering machine that lets her know where they're heading.

"It very much has a feeling of adventure," she said.

On Friday, Hubner had not yet seen any signs of the hurricane's physical devastation on the drive. But the night previous she had spoken briefly with a woman on an elevator who was carrying a cooler, and crying.

"As the scene gets worse, I'm not really sure about what I'm going to be seeing and handling," Hubner said.

When they arrived, they planned to deliver food and supplies from the truck to those in need.

Attempts to reach Huber on her cell phone over the weekend were met by a recorded message that said phone service was down in the area due to the hurricane.

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