We Survived!

[Kayin]

Well, I'm not dead yet.

However, we're evacuated a county away, there's no real ETA for our power to come back on, and the destruction throughout my hometown is unbelievable. Our home is OK, but most of my family's homes are damaged, there are miles and miles of lines down, and communities all around us are simply missing. The storms were bad enough to actually rip up stone from the ground-not just pick up trees and fling them.

I did get a lot of pics on my wife's phone, and this is actually not even the worst damage we saw-out of respect for the dead, I photographed no bodies, but they were certainly there. I'm headed out to donate blood right now (I have a rare subtype) and if you are in the US, PLEASE DONATE BLOOD, if you do nothing else.

We're in a hotel put up by Children's Hospital since Snort is on oxygen, and we got a FEMA minifridge, but we're scraping for food since we're letting others get the immediate aid-we have some snacky type foods, but my bank account is dangerously low. Tuesday, if we get the all clear, we can go home and start helping clean up.

So, we're safe, if tired and low on blood sugar. Also, Snort says snort.

Hard to tell it, but this is the remains of a brick gas station. Nothing is left.

Gas rationing-there are three filling station open in my entire county at this point.

This is the roof of my church. Last I checked, it was still on the ground and the pastor and the men of the church were at my great-grandmother's house getting the trees off it.

These are some pics of my family's property. Roughly a million in damage is what the insurance people say.

A beam from the roof of that brick building in the background went through that tree, shattering it. I have a 7' 6" armspan, I couldn't put my arms around it.

Across the street from my great-grandmother...

The front yard of my childhood home...

Our shed is completely wrecked on the interior-the beams splintered under the trees.

And this, I think illustrates how we feel about everything here.

I borrow 'net from wherever I can get it until everything is restored near the house. I can read this from the phone, and give limited replies, and I'll let everyone know when I can do better.

Luthien's mother is in Trinity here, just transferred out of MICU for acute renal failure, and Snort's surgery went just fine-he was his old growly snorty self as soon as he was rolled out-deep in conversation with his Mr. Bumpy. Her mother is recovering slowly, though we've not gotten a prognosis yet. She was moved out of the ICU basically to free up beds, and we've seen the walking dead around here.

We will rebuild. Just take us some time, is all.

[Fuganater]

Glad to hear your ok mate.

[NightrainSrt4]

My condolences to your family and region.

[OvRiDe]

Phew... Good to hear you are still kicking!! Being from Oklahoma I have seen my fair share of storm damage, but it still just amazing what mother nature can unleash. Glad to hear that Snort's surgery went well. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I hope all goes well with Luthien's mother.

Hang in there, and keep us posted.

[DynamoNED]

My heart and prayers go out to you, your family and everyone else who has been affected.

[crenn]

Good to hear you guys are ok, not so good to hear about there being casualties...

[msmrx57]

Glad to hear that you're safe and Snort's surgery went well. Thoughts and prayers definitely go out for all who are affected. And hoping Luthien's mother continues her recovery. Take care of yourselves.

[x88x]

That's great to hear you and your family got out ok and Snort's surgery went well. My condolences for your damages, but to quote someone from this article about the disaster, "Stuff is stuff, y'all is what's important." I hope you all pull through this stronger than before, and as always, if we can do anything to help, just say the word.

[lynn's engraving]

i don't know you, but i'm glad y'all made it through. i wish i had some encouraging or inspirational things to say other than stay strong. someday when things get back to normal, it's events like this that can be reflected upon and a keener perspective on what's important can be gleaned from having suffered it. it's too bad that this special insight too often requires a heavy price, but it's a value no insurance company could afford to pay.

[Kayin]

Well, update and more problems.

Snort's back at Children's, he stopped breathing last night and Luthien had to give him rescue breaths. We took an ambulance ride and found out the immediate reason was the refusal of his surgeon to give any more pain medication than tylenol for a hernia repair with the appendix inside the hernia sac. Secondary is the fact that all the surgeries that guy did may have been improperly performed. We're meeting with pulmonary Monday morning to get to the bottom of it-and Children's is pretty angry that someone let it happen in their hospital.

Luthien's mother is being tested for amebic dysentery, and as part of Jefferson county's water is undrinkable after the storms, we wonder about our area as well. We're avoiding the water for the moment.

Leave it to utilities to pile it on after something like this-the cell bill doubled. The charges aren't spurious, but they are storm-related. Verizon could easily forgive some bills right now, but they're not planning to do anything but rake in cash.

We're seeing kids in Childrens brought in form the tornadoes. Many are beyond help or hope. Some are brought in dead. The survivors are the most wretched lot of human beings I'll ever see-little kids screaming in pain and there's nothing more they can give them, broken arms, legs, skulls-it's worse than a horror movie out here. I don't really even sleep anymore, and every time i go in the hospital I wonder if I'll be called to give last rites on the floor.

Keep praying for us. Hell would be a nice vacation right now, but we have to keep helping those here who have less than us. Right now, that's a lot of people.