Therefore, while I am at the base battening down hatches, Lisa is desperately calling our insurance company. The insurance company was fielding calls from thousands of other desperate wives, trying to find out if their insurance was in effect. So, she spent most of the day on the phone. As it turns out our insurance policy was good, just barely. We had not renewed our insurance policy, but we were still covered for six more days. This was nice to know yet it would do us little good for a while since our insurance company was about to blow away. We would be safe though. I had a plan for that.
After things were tied down or moved out at the base, the plan was for lisa and I to seek shelter where where she worked. This was at Baptist hospital of Miami. The cars would be safe in the parking garage and the hospital was a hurricane shelter. She was to work her normal shift (3 to 11) and we would spend the night at the hospital and ride out the storm. This worked well, safety wise. Comfort was a different story.
While I was up, I enjoyed the storm. It was actually thrilling. I had never seen wind like this in my life, or sideways rain. The strangest part was the lightning. You couldn't see the bolt, just the flash. The whole sky would light up this beautiful aqua marine glow. I had never seen that color in nature before, or since. But I would love to see it again, it was spectacular. No thunder either, just a loud hum. Like a monster transformer. You could feel the raw electricity pulse through the air. The storm finally died down around 5 AM. The day broke as an overcast gray morning.
I was a Combat Medic in the Army at one time. I know I can help and, from the looks of things, there are going to be casualties. Its 9 AM and the ER is empty. Then they come...... lacerations, broken bones , heart attacks, cuts, punctures, eye injuries. All from the storm or from crawling around the rubble of the houses.
By 10 AM The ER is wall to wall people. People on the floor, in chairs, on gurneys. I was filling out admission forms for each patient. I found that half of the patients were only requesting tetanus shots. But with triage procedures in effect, they will be the last to be seen. I brought this to the attention of the ER doctors. The docs and nurses set up an area for tetanus shots only.. This way, they can treat the seriously injured, while those just needing tetanus shots get them and get out. This clears out the ER by half.
Later in the the afternoon we start
to see amputations and crushing injuries.
These are the people who have decided
to clean up the debris around their houses with chain saws. My God.
Who gave these people chain saws?! The crushing injuries are caused
by cutting the wrong end of a fallen tree and having it crush your foot.
Around 1900 I am exhausted.
Finally, I went upstairs. I found my sleeping bag and a quiet corner, then went to sleep for the night. Lisa and the other nurses put together a room for them to rotate sleeping in. Tomorrow we go home.
