Wrapping Up

Things are wrapping up here in Wichita & I am ready to go home now. It feels like I have been gone much longer than 2 weeks. Molly has been waiting patiently for me & often sits by the door. If she could pack her bags, I am sure she would have everything ready to go at this point! This will be the longest I have been away from her & I know it's been tough on both of us. Fortunately, she is being spoiled (more so than usual) & adding to her fan base on a daily basis. I have enjoyed the work so far & learned more than I expected.

One of my goals for this year was to ultimately find a better life for me & Molly. I remember repeating that to myself as I packed my things in January. Given my work at the Concord RC & at the DRs I feel like I am well on my way to achieving that goal.

Yesterday was 6 months since I took the Americorps VISTA pledge. I remember having a lot of uncertainty & anxiety. There has not been a moment, however, that I have questioned or regretted this decision. God told me where to go...though it required a rather large neon sign...& I listened. Now I am waiting for His direction regarding next year...just wish He would hurry up & tell me!

Another Update

Wichita is keeping me busy. I expect to be here at least ten more days but that changes by the minute, hour. This has been an exceptional team to work with given their years of experience & willingness to teach. Half of the team will go home this weekend & the rest of us are here for the duration of the DR. We are in the process of transitioning to the long-term recovery phase where small teams of people will be working in the field for an extended period of time until every case is closed. It is helpful to see how these operations function & the overall role of the RC in disasters. I have been extremely impressed so far thus my desire to continue working with the RC next year whether as a RC reservist or based out of a local or the national office. The networking opportunities have been extremely valuable & I have met a number of key people at both of the DRs I have worked. Fortunately I think I am at the tail end of my cold so the day of rest was extremely helpful. We have Sunday off from work but there are no more days off after that. Thanks to everyone for their supportive texts, phone calls, & e-mails.

Kansas Update

It's been an great experience so far. I consider myself very fortunate to be doing what I love & loving what I do. We are in the process of closing down the branch offices that were open throughout SE Kansas. These were locations for flood victims to come & meet with a RC rep to get assistance. There will be personnel in those areas on a long-term basis to assist as needed. I have not had the chance to see the flood damage as I am based out of Wichita, approximately 1.5-2 hours away from the flooding. The pictures give you an idea of the damage but I can only imagine seeing it in person. It's like the Gulf Coast where the pictures only gave me a slight idea of Hurricane Katrina's impact. What I saw down there was indescribable in many ways & you can not walk away without being impacted in some way. I would appreciate your prayers as this is very taxing emotionally & physically - we are working 12-14 hours per day, 6 days per week, & 6-7 hours on Sundays. Right now I am fighting a cold so they gave me a day off a little early. I am feeling better now & plan to rest today so I can hit the ground running tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who has called or e-mailed - it means a lot to me.

The below pics of me & my cell phones - there are 300 from this operation that have to be cleared before going back to RTT HQ - & the yellow/black/brown lines on the house show the levels that the water & oil reached on these homes.

In Wichita

I have arrived safely in Wichita. Though the flood waters have receded in nearby towns, there is still a lot of recovery work in the days, weeks, months ahead. I am working on the Response Technology Team (RTT) which coordinates everything from cell phones to computers to satellite hookups. The team I am on has years & years of experience so this is a great opportunity to learn & see if this is something I want to do next year. They are passionate about their work & have similar goals to mine so we are meshing well. This is also another chance to see how Disaster Relief Operations (DROs) function & the various roles that each team plays in the process. I have learned more acronyms than anything else but it is helpful to speak RC-ese since everyone speaks in this unique language. Every day I get a different report as to how long I will be here from another week to the full three weeks (ending August 8). You work seven days a week – 7 days on, 1 day off. The first & perhaps most important lesson you learn when doing this type of work is FLEXIBILITY. I am glad to have this opportunity & a supervisor who is willing to give me the time away from writing grants to have this experience. And, contrary to popular belief, there have been no sightings of Dorothy or Toto YET.

The pictures in this blog are from Coffeyville, Kansas, & show the extensive flooding that took place in this town. After the flooding there was an oil spill which resulted in 500+ condemned homes. I would ask that you remember these people in your prayers. It's hard to go home at night (especially while working on this DRO) thinking that your life is lacking anything once you see this widespread devastation that has far-reaching & long-term consequences.

I Forgot...

I've been running around like crazy since I found out yesterday about the deployment. It's a minor understatement to say that mind is racing right now but Queen Molly has been attended to & relocated to another palace (temporarily) with a sufficient number of servants & adoring fans so all is good.

A couple of you had asked about the comments setting on my blog. I set it so anyone can leave me a comment now (after my approval) so please be nice. Those with more adoring sentiments will be approved faster than the others.

MUCH Better Than A Kidney Infection

I have been deployed to Kansas to assist in the flooding. I'll be working with the IT folks out there which will help me in deciding if that is what I want to do next year. It's a great opportunity & I am really excited. They send you for 1 to 3 weeks so I'm really fortunate to have a supervisor who is willing to give me a break from grant writing.

My birthday is this Friday. As you may know, I spent my last birthday in the hospital with a kidney infection. It wasn't quite the celebration I had planned on for the big 3-0 but life is funny that way sometimes. I will say that this deployment is MUCH better than a kidney infection...maybe even better than the abscess I had in recent days though that is still being determined!

Someone Else's Turn

This past month I have been a frequent flier - not on the airlines but to the doctor's office. I wish you could get bonus points for it because I would have accumulated enough to go on a very, very long trip somewhere that has adequate health care, just in case I need to earn even more points. The antibiotics for a sinus infection led to an abscess on my chin that conveniently decided to make its appearance while I was on vacation in NY. It is next to impossible to find a doctor around here so I have been forced to resort to ER visits. For example, I called to see about making an appointment for a sinus infection & told them all of my symptoms & the lady asked if I could wait 3-4 weeks...enough said.

I am one of the lucky ones to have semi-decent insurance. After all of these medical bills are said & done I might tell you otherwise. Part of the Americorps experience is living at the poverty level of those you serve. However, most of these people do not have or can not afford insurance. It is tough enough to make the copays for each of these visits much less paying the full price for someone to spend 30 seconds in 'consultation' with you. I now have a better idea of how people are forced to choose between seeking medical attention and putting food on the table for their families.

This is just another example of how this experience has taught me something outside of my 9-5 work. The lessons I have learned extend far beyond the office where on work on a day-to-day basis. Many of these are indescribable & will last me for the rest of my life...unlike this abscess I hope.

It is now someone else's turn as I am taking myself out of medical rotation...at least until the end of this month!