PLEA LETTER TO OFFICIALS FROM SUPERDOME

[eleonora]

Posted by http://ragincajun.mindsay.com
she's linked to me at http://neworleans.mindsay.com

Of course I have no way of confirming the news, but I can assure you she's NOT lying by posting this.

edit: excuse the format. I copy-pasted.





Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, Ross has been in the Superdome in New Orleans since noon yesterday working alongside Acadian Ambulance medics to help the sick and injured refuged there from Hurricane Katrina.

He was able to get through to me by satellite phone at 4 AM today. I
want to share his news with you, in the hopes that you will press your
government officials and even the White House to take action as soon aspossible.

Ross arrived at the Superdome at noon yesterday, as more and more people were being brought in after being rescued from floodwaters. He said that countless people had seen their family members drown right beside them. When he arrived, several emergency helicopters had been sitting on the helipad outside the Superdome for 2 hours...and no one was directing that patients be put on them to be evacuated. Ross took charge and started getting people on and helicopters out.


There are now 20,000 people inside the Superdome. The only medical
personnel at the Superdome are Acadian Ambulance paramedics and EMT's
and a small team of doctors and nurses from New Mexico. They are
exhausted understaffed and out of medical supplies. The only current
source of medical supplies are those that Acadian is able to ferry in.
Dialysis equipment is no longer functioning. Sick people are getting
sicker. 30 people have now died in the Superdome, including one
suicide. Ross said there have been at least 2 rapes.


There is no running water and sewage is overflowing in the bathrooms.
There is no electricity or air conditioning (it is expected to be 95
degrees outside today). The back-up generators are expected to fail
later this morning.


There is no plan to provide for an evacuation of the 30,000 people in
the Superdome. There is no plan to evacuate the people trapped in their hotels and houses (who are almost or completely out of food and
water)---when the floodwaters were still low enough, these people were
simply told to "go to the Superdome". Now they are sitting outside the
Superdome because there is no room inside.


Satellite phones are not working very well, and the officials inside the Dome are having trouble calling out for assistance.


New Orleans is in a desperate state of chaos including, and the Federal Government needs to step in at a higher level than FEMA and the National Guard: we need the resources that the US Armed Forces can bring to bear.


I am writing, actually BEGGING, you to contact any elected official you know at any level to urge the White House and Pentagon to take immediate action to step in at a greater level. Many more lives will be lost in the next few days if action is not taken.

[eleonora]

1. I don't know what to do. I'll kick it once

there are too many posts at once

[KitchenWitch]

2. Kicked and Recommended

:kick:

[Kali]

3. forward that to your reps and senators. NOW

[ElectroPrincess]

5. Yes, a talking head is spewing propaganda now ...

Meeting every need. Oops! Guess the media should not have sent people in who FLATLY counter their LIES!

"Full force of the Federal Government?"

Where the hell are you NOW?!?

[understandinglife]

4. Recommended and kicked.

As further validation, the following is an email from a doctor in an hotel in the French Quarter:

From: XXXXXX
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 10:47 AM
To: XXXXXX
Date: August 31, 2005 11:48:15 AM MDT

Subject: This was from an RN friend who lives in Wilmington. A former Wilmington physician writes from New Orleans Aug. 31, 2005

This is a dispatch from New Orleans from Dr. Greg Henderson, a pathologist who recently moved from Wilmington:

Thanks to all of you who have sent your notes of concern and your prayers. I am writing this note on Tuesday at 2 p.m.. I wanted to update all of you as to the situation here. I don't know how much information you are getting but I am certain it is more than we are getting. Be advised that almost everything I am telling you is from direct observation or rumor from reasonable sources. They are allowing limited internet access, so I hope to send this dispatch today.

<clip>

Things were obviously bad yesterday, but they are much worse today. Overnight the water arrived. Now Canal Street (true to its origins) is indeed a canal. The first floor of all downtown buildings is underwater. I
have heard that Charity Hospital and Tulane are limited in their ability to care for patients because of water. Ochsner is the only hospital that remains fully functional. However, I spoke with them today and they too are
on generator and losing food and water fast.

The city now has no clean water, no sewerage system, no electricity, and no real communications. Bodies are still being recovered floating in the floods. We are worried about a cholera epidemic. Even the police are without effective communications. We have a group of armed police here with us at the hotel that is admirably trying to exert some local law enforcement. This is tough because looting is now rampant. Most of it is not malicious looting. These are poor and desperate people with no housing and no medical care and no food or water trying to take care of themselves and their families. Unfortunately, the people are armed and dangerous. We hear gunshots frequently. Most of Canal street is occupied by armed looters who have a low threshold for discharging their weapons. We hear gunshots frequently. The looters are using makeshift boats made of pieces of styrofoam to access. We are still waiting for a significant national guard presence.

The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many people in the hotel are elderly and small children. Many other guests have unusual diseases. ... There are (Infectious Disease) physicians in at this hotel attending an HIV confection. We have commandered the world famous French Quarter Bar to turn
into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about seven doctors and PAs and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical facility in the central business district and French Quarter.

Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under police escort. The pharmacy was dark and full of water. We basically scooped the entire drug sets into garbage bags and removed them. All under police excort. The looters had to be held back at gunpoint. After a dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine.

In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the the French Qarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many will be from the hotel, but many will not. We are anticipating dealing with multiple medical problems, medications and and acute injuries. Infection and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water shortages are imminent.

The biggest question to all of us is where is the National Guard. We hear jet fignters and helicopters, but no real armed presence, and hence the rampant looting. There is no Red Cross and no Salvation Army.

In a sort of cliché way, this is an edifying experience. One is rapidly focused away from the transient and material to the bare necessities of life. It has been challenging to me to learn how to be a primary care phyisican. We are under martial law so return to our homes is impossible. I don't know how long it will be and this is my greatest fear. Despite it all, this is a soul-edifying experience. The greatest pain is to think about the loss. And how long the rebuid will take. And the horror of so many dead people.

Link:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/1/16383/40415

Peace.

[eleonora]

7. thanks for posting this

I'll post the letter on my blog too

[Just Me]

6. KICK!

:kick:

[Beam Me Up]

8. too much is happening

this is a disaster unlike anything we've ever seen

kick

[Beam Me Up]

9. double post

[phusion]

10. Wait, I thought there was a plan

to evacuate these people to the Astrodome?

What the hell?