September 5, 2017 at 5:31 p.m.
Family was part of Texas rescue effort
As I See It
By Diana Dolecki-
I spent last week watching the news and worrying. Hurricane Harvey was dangerously close to my daughter and her family. Thankfully, they are all unscathed.
As I have mentioned before, my daughter, Beth, is an emergency room nurse in Houston, Texas. Her husband, Duston, is an ambulance driver/paramedic/true redneck Texan.
They had also been watching the news. They arranged for Beth’s daughter, Emma, to stay with her dad in case the hurricane lived up to its hype. Their two boys, Jacob and Nicholas, were to stay with Duston’s sister, Kassie. The chihuahua also went to Kassie’s. The neighbors agreed to keep an eye on the house, chickens and horse. The horse was let out of its pen and had the entire yard to play in. Beth and Duston packed several bags and headed into work.
When her shift was over Beth contemplated going home as the skies were clear and Harvey had yet to make landfall. Thankfully, she stayed at the hospital. Two long days later I could hear the frustration in her voice as she lamented that she couldn’t do more to help those who lost everything to the hurricane and resultant flooding. I told her she was exactly where she needed to be and was helping far more than she realized. She dismissed my encouragement.
Duston was on rescue duty. He saw first hand the damage in Rockport where Harvey initially showed how destructive natural phenomena could be. One of his first jobs was to rescue a father and his two young daughters. The girls were afraid even though the water was only about three feet deep at that point. Duston told them how much fun a boat ride was going to be. By the time they got into the boat, they were happy and excited and the rescue went smoothly.
Duston and his crew traveled wherever they were needed. For several exhausting days they operated on a mere three or four hours of sleep. At one point they were eating MRE’s (meals ready to eat) because there was no other choice. After five days they finally got to sit down to a hot meal. A day or so later he was allowed to go home for 12 hours before returning to work. He slept, showered and returned to his job. He clocked approximately 180 hours before the worst was over and he was allowed some time off.
Five days after she had gone to work, Beth was sitting in an ambulance bay at midnight enjoying the breeze in her hair and the novelty of no rain falling down. The weariness showed on her face, along with the relief of knowing that the roads were finally safe enough for her to return home the next day.
She posted a thank you to her co-workers on her Facebook page that read in part, “You guys were awesome. We make a great team. Thank you for making me laugh and thank you for lifting me up when I was feeling down . . .” She went on to thank Kassie for watching her boys and the neighbors for watching the house.
The next morning she made it home without incident. That itself is nothing short of a miracle as only a few short days earlier most of the roads resembled rivers more than streets.
She took a much needed nap before retrieving Emma. Emma complained that Beth was squeezing her too hard. They went to Kassie’s to reunite with the boys. Jacob and Nicholas couldn’t understand why their mom was crying, which only made her cry that much more.
Three days later Beth posted a picture of a mermaid that had washed up in her yard. It looked suspiciously like a grinning Emma.
All the hours Duston and Beth spent obtaining and maintaining their respective qualifications paid off for the people they treated. Although, being a true redneck Texan, Duston would have been out rescuing people anyway with his wife by his side.
They both noted how refreshing it was to see people working together, not separated by skin color, ethnicity or ideology. It’s a shame that it takes a disaster to bring us together.
The hard work of cleanup and rebuilding has begun. The media will go on to the next big story. Two little girls will remember a boat ride through flooded streets. And I can finally quit watching the news.
As I have mentioned before, my daughter, Beth, is an emergency room nurse in Houston, Texas. Her husband, Duston, is an ambulance driver/paramedic/true redneck Texan.
They had also been watching the news. They arranged for Beth’s daughter, Emma, to stay with her dad in case the hurricane lived up to its hype. Their two boys, Jacob and Nicholas, were to stay with Duston’s sister, Kassie. The chihuahua also went to Kassie’s. The neighbors agreed to keep an eye on the house, chickens and horse. The horse was let out of its pen and had the entire yard to play in. Beth and Duston packed several bags and headed into work.
When her shift was over Beth contemplated going home as the skies were clear and Harvey had yet to make landfall. Thankfully, she stayed at the hospital. Two long days later I could hear the frustration in her voice as she lamented that she couldn’t do more to help those who lost everything to the hurricane and resultant flooding. I told her she was exactly where she needed to be and was helping far more than she realized. She dismissed my encouragement.
Duston was on rescue duty. He saw first hand the damage in Rockport where Harvey initially showed how destructive natural phenomena could be. One of his first jobs was to rescue a father and his two young daughters. The girls were afraid even though the water was only about three feet deep at that point. Duston told them how much fun a boat ride was going to be. By the time they got into the boat, they were happy and excited and the rescue went smoothly.
Duston and his crew traveled wherever they were needed. For several exhausting days they operated on a mere three or four hours of sleep. At one point they were eating MRE’s (meals ready to eat) because there was no other choice. After five days they finally got to sit down to a hot meal. A day or so later he was allowed to go home for 12 hours before returning to work. He slept, showered and returned to his job. He clocked approximately 180 hours before the worst was over and he was allowed some time off.
Five days after she had gone to work, Beth was sitting in an ambulance bay at midnight enjoying the breeze in her hair and the novelty of no rain falling down. The weariness showed on her face, along with the relief of knowing that the roads were finally safe enough for her to return home the next day.
She posted a thank you to her co-workers on her Facebook page that read in part, “You guys were awesome. We make a great team. Thank you for making me laugh and thank you for lifting me up when I was feeling down . . .” She went on to thank Kassie for watching her boys and the neighbors for watching the house.
The next morning she made it home without incident. That itself is nothing short of a miracle as only a few short days earlier most of the roads resembled rivers more than streets.
She took a much needed nap before retrieving Emma. Emma complained that Beth was squeezing her too hard. They went to Kassie’s to reunite with the boys. Jacob and Nicholas couldn’t understand why their mom was crying, which only made her cry that much more.
Three days later Beth posted a picture of a mermaid that had washed up in her yard. It looked suspiciously like a grinning Emma.
All the hours Duston and Beth spent obtaining and maintaining their respective qualifications paid off for the people they treated. Although, being a true redneck Texan, Duston would have been out rescuing people anyway with his wife by his side.
They both noted how refreshing it was to see people working together, not separated by skin color, ethnicity or ideology. It’s a shame that it takes a disaster to bring us together.
The hard work of cleanup and rebuilding has begun. The media will go on to the next big story. Two little girls will remember a boat ride through flooded streets. And I can finally quit watching the news.
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