| The gravity of the disaster really
hit me today. We drove down the highway paralleling the
beach in Biloxi and Gulfport. I saw trees adorned with
the belongings of the residents, put there by the water
and winds, looking like tattered prayer flags. I saw Old
Glory, split between the stripes, still waving on a pole
in front of the remains of a business gutted by the storm
surge. I saw homes reduced to rubble, other homes with
all of the South-facing first-floor walls blown away.
I saw a piano set beside the street to be picked up by
the refuse removal trucks, clearly water-damaged. I saw
debris from water left on the roof of a house. By the
time we left the area, I was sick to my stomach, completely
rattled inside. For the first time, I realized the extent
of the destruction. Each house is marked with the number
of people or corpses found. If you have only seen pictures,
you have seen nothing. There are no adequate words to
describe the scene, how it feels to be here.
I did get to do some procedures today. I explored an
abscess on a patient, and closed an avulsion with sutures
on another. I plan to return for a half day tomorrow,
then fly to Chattanooga for an overnight stop. |
