Posted on 08/12/2004 11:36:27 PM PDT by Billie
I am so happy, and I know how relieved you must be to have talked to Kevin. I am so happy, JH2 that you and yours are safe. I finally talked to my Step-Dad, Fred (after calling all day yesterday)this morning and he is doing well. No problems in his area. I was concerned last night because I read online that residents from his area (Merritt Island) were advised to evacuate. Prayers for all who have been devastated by Hurricane Charley
I am planning on driving to Myrtle Beach tomorrow. I didn't make the decision to go to Myrtle Beach until Thursday. (We had planned this vacation in January) My BIL's sister, Kathy was in very bad shape (Idiopathic Pneumonia Syndrome) after her bone marrow transplant. She was on a ventilator for almost 2 weeks, in an induced coma, and we thought we were losing her. So very sad. Thank God, she made improvements 'bounced back' is what the docs say. She has been weaned off the venitlator and woke up. Still a long way to go, but we are all thrilled with the improvements.
Hi Kitty Mittens!
You find the most precious pictures of President Bush.
Snagged this one for my personal enjoyment. :)
I lurk over here in FR's Finest - a very talented and interesting bunch.
Hi, my friend! I'm glad you liked the picture of our beloved President!
I just turned on my computer to check on everyone at the Finest that was in the path of the storm; haven't yet read the last page of the thread. I've been worried about these good people!
Hope you're having a nice weekend, dear Spotsy! :^)
Offering more prayers for Kathy!
"Offering more prayers for Kathy!"
Thank You so much, Kitty Mittens.
Colleen
Just doing some campanioning here.
Dear Dub,
Senator Kerry often cites his time on Senate Intelligence Committee as a qualification to be President, but he never mentions being chastised by Democratic colleagues--including Sen. Dennis DeConcini, then chairman of the Intelligence Committee--for his proposal to cut America's intelligence by $6 billion in funding in 1994.
Because Senator Kerry missed every intelligence committee hearing that year, he may not have realized his proposal was so drastic. And missing meetings became a pattern for John Kerry.
For two years, the Intelligence Committee considered important reforms and John Kerry chose not to participate. He did not attend George Tenet's confirmation hearing, and he did not attend the National Commission on Terrorism hearing in 2000.
If that isn't disturbing enough, after months of attacking President Bush's motives and credibility, John Kerry now says knowing what he knows now he would still voted for the Iraq war.
I've long said that this election presented a clear choice for all Americans. That contrast was made clear when Senator Kerry said he preferred a law enforcement approach to the War on Terror, and made clearer recently when he said he would lead a more sensitive War on Terror.
A law enforcement approach is the pre-911 policy that we followed after terrorists first attacked the World Trade Center, after terrorists bombed the U.S.S. Cole, and after terrorists attacked our embassies in East Africa.
The choice is clear: When it comes to fighting and winning the War on Terror, President Bush's commitment and steady leadership is what America needs.
Sincerely,
P.S. Keep spreading the word, the John Kerry Iraq Documentary [KerryOnIraq.com] that has been seen by more than 4.5 million people-reaching more viewers in its opening week than Fahrenheit 911 did in its opening weekend
My son, Kevin, called from West Palm Beach this a.m. to say they had very little effect there.
He did have to call Orlando to cancel hotel reservations for today he made some time ago, scheduled to take his 12-year old son with him to attend a Promisekeepers Convention, but was not charged for the cancellation, there being the heavy influx of those from the Tampa area going there to 'avoid the hurricane.'
(He had taken his older son to one 4 years ago.)
I can only imagine the tasks facing my son, Steve, rendering medical assistance in Punta Gorda with his DMAT Team. Although there is no power or water for the populace, their mobile hospital setup is fully operational with its own generators and water supply, and even a communications tower and the personnel to man it as part of the group.
There is a DMORT Team, too, there to deal with the deceased, with refrigerator trucks.
They still have no idea how many lost their lives, with so large a devastated area to comb.
I've been to Punta Gorda with my sister - she was born there - and to Ft. Myers - that section of the coast is/was so beautiful...heard 95 % of the luxury homes on the barrier islands were hit hard.
Colleen, prayers of thanksgiving for the improvement in Kathy, and for the safety of all in your family in their travel...Myrtle Beach should be pretty well back to normal by the time you arrive.
Moses and Jesus
A burglar broke into a house one night. He shone his flashlight around, looking for valuables, and when he picked up a CD player to place in his sack, a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying, "Jesus is watching you".
He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off and froze. When he heard nothing more after a bit, he shook his head, promised himself a vacation after the next big score, then clicked the light back on and began searching for more valuables.
Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard, "Jesus is watching you". Totally rattled, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.
Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. "Did you say that?", he hissed at the parrot.
"Yes," the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you."
The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who do you think you are any way?"
"Moses," replied the bird.
"Moses" the burglar laughed. "What kind of stupid people would name a parrot 'Moses'?"
The bird promptly answered: "The same kind of people that would name a Rottweiler 'Jesus'!"
Planning on leaving for SC about 4 in the morning. I brought my pup, Lucy to the doggie motel yesterday. Wish I could bring her on vacaton with me :-)
Thank You, Maggie.
Read: Colossians 1:19-23
You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit. —1 Corinthians 6:20
Bible In One Year: Psalms 91-93; Romans 15:1-13
Our family had lived in the same house for many years, and it was time for a change of scenery. When we finally discovered a house we liked, we began negotiating for its purchase.
We had to find out if the refrigerator stayed. And the stove. But we knew some things were not going to stay. The furniture didn't come with the house. And I jokingly wondered if we could keep the cars in the garage.
When you buy a house, you may not get the total package. The owner takes his belongings with him, although you may have the option to buy some of them.
Many things in life have purchase options. But that's not how it is with our faith in Jesus Christ. When Jesus purchased us with His blood on the cross, He didn't get only a portion of us. He's not just the Lord of the religious stuff; He owns everything. So why do we sometimes live as if parts of us don't belong to Jesus? That's not fair to the buyer.
"You were bought at a price," Paul wrote. "Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Christ bought us—body, soul, and spirit. Let's make sure we let Him use the total package for His glory. —Dave Branon
Received a call this morning from my son, Steve, who deployed with the South Florida DMAT Unit to render medical assistance there.
They arrived in Punta Gorda at 0330 - total darkness, with no power, but they could see many areas with every other structure demolished, and had to dodge downed lines everywhere.
They've set up their two field tents and communications tower in the parking lot of the Charlotte Regional Medical Center - the one with the roof blown off that you've seen on television.
He related something you probably will not hear elsewhere. Every hospital has Disaster Plans, and their actions were impressive! He said the Emergency Room was immediately stripped of all the supplies and equipment they could physically move - hurridly placed it all in interior small rooms away from ER.
Had they not, they would have been unable to handle the influx of patients, because the ER itself WAS DESTROYED!
His DMAT Team was the first of three who responded, and the medical staff was more than thrilled to get some relief, having been on their feet and inundated with patient care for a whole night and day. One of Steve's DMAT field tents is handling critical care patients, and there are more than enough medical transport helicopters there from Orlando and Tampa to transport them to other hospitals for further care.
Steve is in charge of the other tent, handling lacerations and fractures and burns, those with chronic illnsses, etc.
He said one middle aged man had fractures of both legs, plus many cuts, and joked about going to lock his front door, and "it held wonderfully against the wind" - - only thing was, the entire door frame and the door blew in on him, causing all his injuries...
He said that, as would be expected, all of the patients and citizens are in shock - so many literally homeless, not knowing what to do with their lives in the next hours, or days or weeks.
Asking him how long he expects to be there, he has no idea, the search for the injured going on, and the hospital far from operational. Usually, his team can be deployed for up to two weeks, but this could be longer,
They presently are working 12-hour shifts, and he said last night he finally was able to shower - - with water from a 5-gallon drum! We take so for granted our luxuries, don't we?!
When I told him I'd posted about his deployment on The Finest and prayers were being said for him (and them all), he said, gratefully, "I feel them all..."
Thank you for those. I can imagine the emotional pressure under the pain and grief of those he is treating.
He is understandably excited because President Bush is on his way there, and might come to the hospital!
In his (volunteer) role with DMAT, he is a Charter Member Federal Employee of Homeland Security, with a Federal I.D. badge, so he might meet his Commander-in-Chief - it doesn't get better than that, Steve serving his fellow man and state and country with a Godly heart....
Thank you LadyX for the eyewitness report..God bless your son and all the rescuers and helpers...May God comfort those who are injured or have lost a loved one....May the homeless find shelter and strength to rebuild their lives..
Thanks for the report, Lady.
God bless Steve and the many others who are there giving aid.
God Bless Steve and his teams.
Thank you for sharing his story with us.
It is really difficult to think of how it would be if we were one of the victims, especially for the elderly and infirm without the strength and/or means to 'start over.'
http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/003282.html
My son and his very pregnant wife were in this tornado...We drove through the night dodging tornados to try to get there as we could not get any news..We were following ambulance convoys at one point on the way..I have never been so afraid...They were staying with friends who had a roof and doors...so the search was awful, through every center, hospital.
Their apartment had no roof and the large sliding doors were on the bed or gone...A car was overturned and against the apartment wall.The stress factor in these situations is enormous..We helped them move that day after the joyous, tearful reunion. ...His friends at worked helped.
The area looked like a war zone, with only foundations left in some areas..Again..may God be with the victims and their rescuers.
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