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C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 5 13 I am now home from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There were 15 nurses from all over California that landed Mon- day, Sept. 12 with me at Earl K. Long Memorial Hospital. We were greeted with smiles, tears, and open arms. Another group of al- most 40 landed the following Thursday. We ate at the hospital, slept at the hospital, and worked 12-hour days. When Katrina closed Charity Hospital, a sister Louisiana State University hospital, the staff at Earl Long was inundated with pa- tients. A hospital whose normal maximum census of 70 to 80 pa- tients—and that had almost been closed prior to Katrina due to lack of funding—jumped to a census of 200 overnight. There was no extra staff, as the nurses from Charity had lost everything and were given until the end of September to decide what to do. We were a breath of fresh air, literally. Once we got there the staff was finally able to take a day off. They had been work- ing every day since Katrina hit. They had all of their usual patients, many patients from Charity Hospital, and many who were injured in the hurricane. Also, the population of Baton Rouge doubled overnight, so there was a huge influx of people. The hospital, being state funded, took care of all those with no insurance, no money. They were the people who ever before Katrina had nothing. Many had underlying conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C. This complicated their care in many ways. With all that these people had been through, they all still had hope and an incredible faith in God and humanity. They were not afraid to tell people "thank you" and "God bless you." All of our patients were so appreciative of everything we did. Even if we were late on something, we were told that, "It was okay, we were all doing our best." —Erika Knox, RN Enloe Medical Center Here I sit in a strange chair, breathing air I don't know in an airport I've never been in. I am ill. I feel shaky and disori- ented. I left my home nine days ago and return a different person. Then I was a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and a friend. I worked full time as a nurse at a job I loved and felt useful at. But then Katrina made contact and I went to help. I flew to a city I had never seen, paid for by a group I had never known. I took my first solo taxi ride to my assigned hospital, Earl K. Long. Within 10 minutes I had a nursing license in Louisiana, and picked a bed out of the seven in one of the six room on 5 North. It was to be my home for the next nine days. I immediately changed and went to work, passing meds to people displaced, or left, or caught in a gun fight. They spoke with an accent I had never heard, and often didn't understand. Every staff member, nurse, supervisor, aide, housekeeper, phar- macy tech greeted me with a smile and a "Welcome, Miss Diane." We spent a week covering the floors, listening to the war sto- ries of surviving not only the hurricane, but the time after. The stories were offered by the patients, their family, friends, the staff, and any and all persons we met. Everyone seemed to need to talk it through to be able to make it part of their past. We would start IVs, do dressing changes, or sponge baths, and listen with our mouths agape and our hearts leaking. This area was in shock. They had lost much of what tied them to who they were, and they strug- gled to redefine themselves in this new world. The staff of this hos- pital that had not had their homes destroyed were exhausted from their valiant efforts to make a dent in the suffering. And yet, every person I met greeted me with a smile and left me with a "Thank you, Miss Diane. Thank you for coming to help us." Now as I try to put myself back into the role I had nine days ago, I can't seem to fit. I know some of the patients are still in the hospital and the staff continues to care for them. Some will rebuild, some will move. And I sit here, in this chair, in this air- port, on my way home. It was quite a week. Thank you to the California Nurses Association for the experience. You are all true to the profession. —Diane Dengate, RN Hutzel Women's Hospital, Michigan In mid September, another storm hit the Gulf Coast—a storm of nurses from California and other states, spon- sored by CNA and NNOC, rushed into the many specialty units of Earl K. Long Memorial Hospital and helped ease the workload of the staff. Besides their regular 12-hour shifts, some volunteer RNs even helped out in their specialty areas on their days off, or helped other nurses in other specialties. The ER, critical care, step-down, and other RNs helped the med-surg nurses, whose workload was very taxing. Some went to shelters and helped with the inoculation of vic- tims. Nurses comforted many children and helped many parents cope. The mothers and fathers were relieved to see their chil- dren's fears eased by compassionate touches, gestures, and re- assurances from many of our nurses. The children liked the candy as well! Many nurses went to other areas of the shelter and cared for the children so parents could simply take a break and have some time alone. —Shirley Usher, RN San Gabriel Valley Medical Center TOP PHOTOGRAPH BY JACKSON HILL