From a nurse that volunteered in Texas.
Before everyone thinks I am a terrible, prejudiced, horrible
person, just wanted to send a copy of the letter I sent to
the Times editors and Bill O'Reilly. Please pray that
Hurricane Ike will NOT come to Louisiana - I don't think
I have the attitude of Christ yet!
Sherri
Dear Editor,
I am a nurse who has just completed volunteer working
approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a
Hurricane Gustav evacuation shelter in Shreveport,
Louisiana over the last 7 days. I would love to see
someone look at the evacuee situation from a new
perspective. Local and national news channels have covered
the evacuation and "horrible" conditions the
evacuees had to endure during Hurricane Gustav.
True - some things were not optimal for the evacuation and
the shelters need some modification.
At any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or
irresponsibility) of the evacuees?
Does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell
phone, charger, cigarettes and lighter but forget their
child's insulin?
Is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks
immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free
refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a
prescription or current bottle (most of which are
narcotics)?
Isn't the system flawed when an evacuee says they
cannot afford a $3 copay for a refill that will be delivered
to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus
to Wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of Vodka, and return to consume
them secretly in the shelter?
Is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming
evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but
endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very
realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought
into the shelter?
Am I less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub
emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his
mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not
even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own
son?
Why does it insense me to hear a man say "I ain't
goin' home 'til I get my FEMA check" when I
would love to just go home and see my daughters who I have
only seen 3 times this week?
Is the system flawed when the privately insured patient
must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his
prescription and pay his copay while the FEMA declaration
allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications
under the disaster rules?
Does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter
is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot
during the day as the shelter provides a
"daycare"?
Have government entitlements created this mentality and am
I facilitating it with my work?
Will I be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor Christian
if I hesitate to work at the next shelter because I have
worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable,
feeling threatened and fearing for my personal safety in the
shelter?
Exhausted and battered,
Sherri Hagerhjelm, RN
The government just doesn't do enough, does it?
