Katrina part 2

Katrina part2

August 29, 2010 at 4:23pm

So my husband and I prepare to leave...Miss Christina wants to go with us. This is not a good idea. You may be wondering why. Well it goes like this... when people evacuated for Dennis, Ivan, and Cindy (all minor storms in New Orleans) disabled people ended up dying enroute to their destinations. Once contra flow has begun, they have exits blocked off. You have problems with cell phone networks being so overloaded that you can't call for help. Diabetics should not sit still for long periods of time it can cause blood clots in the legs. It was taking people up to 8 hrs to get to places that normally only take 1.5 hrs. Her situation would be that, we would have to carry large tanks of oxygen (4 hrs per tank). Then if when we get to our destination and it loses power, it is not on the list to restore power first for special needs. She could possibly have to live on her tanks. She has an oxygen machine that requires power that she normally uses. Our car would have to hold 4 adults (sorry we left the family pet), luggage, water, food, and all that she would need to sustain her life. Our trunk would be full of mainly oxygen tanks and her oxygen machine. I was 7.5 months pregnant, I wanted to bring the infant seat and other baby stuff just in case. I drive a Honda Accord, while it is roomy it isn't a mini van. It just wasn't a smart choice. Miss Christina was told to go to the Super Dome (she didn't go) she had other offers at local hospitals, but again she said no. They only had floor space avialable and she didn't want to sleep on the floor...you don't get a TV either.

My husband was getting increasingly agitated by the whole thing. He had been to the dentist the week before with a abscessed tooth and it was bothering him again. The dentist had not given him any pain meds...I have no idea why!!! We had tried to get some and they said that he had to come in for another appointment. This was the day before. My husband can't leave work like that. He was the Executive Sous Chef and worked at least 12 hours a day. So we went to get some pain pills from his step mother across town, and to his fathers old apartment to get an air mattress (also very hard to walk in to his dad's apartment like that). We returned home and I finished loading up the car. My husband just kinda shut down. He was constantly on the phone with people asking him where are you going. We finally leave. I was trying to find highway 90...my husband told me it was Airline highway. I got on Airline and the signs all said that it was actually highway 61. My husband was totally drunk at this point, it was 10:00 PM and i was so pissed at him. I didn't know how to get to New Iberia and I was scared too. I pulled over and lost my mind on my husband. No piont he was drunk...He wanted to get out of the car and walk home. I refused and got back on the road. He passed out. I called my Uncle Kurt, who's house we were going to, and he gave me directions. I was very stressed because I couldn't go the way he told me, because of the contra flow. I couldn't get on I-10 because the on ramps were blocked off. I eventually did get on the I-10, but well past the exit I needed to take that would lead me directly to New Iberia. My Uncle was there all through the night to help me get to his house. I got lost a couple of times, and I was so tired when we finally got to his house at 4:00 AM. It took 6hrs to go what usually takes 2.5 hours. We set up the air matress and went to bed.

Tuesday August 28, 2005.

I remember waking up and it just being chaotic. My Uncle has about a 2,100 to 2,300 sqr foot home with 3 bedrooms. He is married with one child, my cousin Ashley (20 something) who has a child (5). So they each have their own room. I can't quite remember who showed up and when. I know that my cousin Lisa, her husband Marcus, and there little girl Angelica (4) were there. They lived in Slidell, LA (across the twin span) I don't remember when they got there. My Aunt Lynn, also from Slidell, was originally going to weather the storm at her brand new house with my Grandparents, and my mentally retarded Uncle Mark, from Chalmette. They decided last minute to come to New Iberia. We contacted other family members and make sure that my Aunt Neice and her family (they lived in Lakeview) were alright. They went to Jackson MS with their neighbors. My Aunt Lainie and her husband decided to stay in Laplace which is 25 miles from New Orleans. We all watched the news....all day long. We all get ready for bed. My husband and I slept on the air matress on the living room floor. People were not sleeping well and wanted to watch the news so we didn't sleep well either. My cousin was working the night shift at an old folks home. She comes in between 3:00 and 6:00AM. She slept on a recliner for a couple of hours then she moved to her room which my grandparents were sleeping in with Uncle Mark. My cousin Lisa, her Husband, and their child slept in her little girl's room. Ashley's daughter thinks this is all fun and sleeps on her play Bratz couch in my Uncle and Aunt's bedroom. My Aunt Lynn slept on the couch.

Wednesday August 29, 2005

The day starts early people can't sleep...everyone wants to watch the news. My husband still won't watch the news and is already saying we are going to go back right away. We all watch...we all just watch.....we go to sleep again. This time Dennis and I move the air matress to the Foyer so we can get some better rest. My cousin gets off early that night and she sleeps with me on the air matress and my husband moves to the floor under the dinning room table, With an absessed tooth on the hard floor! Oh, and no more pain medication.

The days get blurry from here

We watch the news....my husband finally watches too. People go off by themselves for awhile and come back to watch some more... My husband just kept saying, "You don't understand, we live right next to the power station, our house is going to be dry and have power first. We can leave tommorrow."

The levy broke.... The news was not good... People will not be alowed to return to their homes for at least 8 weeks.... I AM 32 WEEKS PREGNANT....FULL TERM IS 40 WEEKS. I NEED TO FIND SOME PLACE TO HAVE THIS BABY.

We all just kinda started to get shit done. We called FEMA, we went to the unemployment office. We applied for food stamps, I applied for WIC. I find a OBGYN.

We went to a Red Cross Shelter....I broke down in tears. A women told me to go and get a job. McDonalds was hiring...You need to realize that you have to start over....My Cousin's husband is a big man and he was there real quick blocking that lady out. Telling me don't worry it will be alright....All I could think about was how much I had like my old job...I was a hostess at my favorite restaurant. Low stress...dress up, be pretty...McDonalds are you shitting me!?! I have a culinary degree.... I was a Traveling Unit Controller for Al Copeland Investments, I would go in and fix the mess, I organized an office for a labor audit....I was persnal assitant to the President of the company. MCDONALDS!^$%^**%.....it was like are you f@#$@ing serious!?! Get a job at McDonalds!?! Yeah... I'll get right on that!

All I can say is the phones weren't working....We didn't know where Miss Christina was...We couldn't contact anybody except my parents in Pennsylvania. Miss Christina had left some really choppy messeges on my voice mail once we could use my cell again. All we could make out was that she wasnt going to the Super Dome she was going.....that was it.

Dennis was in such pain with his tooth. We found a dentist that fixed it for $110.00. So much better than the quote we got before the storm of $3000.00.

I gained about 20 lbs in the week after the storm. I just sat down and ate pop tarts for everymeal. I was in my Uncle's house with something like 13+ people at any given time. I'm tired, pregnant, and don't want to step on anyones toes. Pop tarts no mess. Just pop and serve.

My new OBGYN had to do the whole gambit of tests. She monitors me closely.

Texting starts to work....We rent a tiny 2 bedroom house in the middle of several Sugar Cain fields.

To be continued....