A strange end of summer. We had our faculty meetings, got through registration, had one day of classes, and then Hurricane Isaac came in and did a slowwww fade over southern Louisiana, dumping tons of rain and causing Xavier to cancel school until this coming Tuesday. We're basically starting from scratch because there'll be a new registration period, and there were so few students on our regular first day of classes that no one really covered a lot of material. I had to send out revised syllabi to everyone from a hotel room in Byram, Mississippi where Lana and I rode out the storm. I would probably have stuck it out at home but Lana was very concerned about the heat if the electricity went out, and that was enough to convince us to leave.
We did lose electricity. I don't know how many days, but we threw out a couple of hundred dollars worth of food this morning that had spoiled or was beginning to. We spent four days in Byram, then came back to New Orleans to another hotel for a day and a half. I drove out to the house on Saturday to find that the electricity was back on so I fetched Lana and we were happy to be home. She slept well for the first time since we'd left.
We were pretty lucky. The house did not take any water and no trees were down on our property. Our next door neighbors were not so lucky. The patriarch got blasted in the head by a tree that came down on their house and he had to be evacuated and have his scalp stapled. They also lost a car. Lana's car had water in the floorboards, but only on the driver's side. We'd parked it in the highest spot in our yard and that turned out to be a very good thing. The car started fine.
I spent a lot of Saturday and today cleaning up and trying to get the water out of Lana's floorboards. I'm also worried about her because she just can't eat. She's been living on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks now, and not even any protein drinks, just ginger ale and occasionally some tea. She was drinking milk but has given that up. She's getting her energy from putting sugar in her drinks. I'm sure that part of the problem now is the side effects of the meds she's being given. She's also almost given up talking since it hurts her throat to do so and her voice is so raspy it's hard to understand.
Anyway, I was able to visit some blogs today and probably will tomorrow. But then it'll be back to school so things will be haphazard. We'll have a lot of catching up to do.
29 comments:
I was thinking about you and Lana, and being worried every time I was catching glimpses of Hurricane Isaac's effects in the news. I'm glad you're mostly fine, but I'm very sorry that Lana is so uncomfortable. I wish her all the best and I'm sending both of you my kindest thoughts.
Welcome back, Charles! While I'm glad Isaac spared your home, I'm sorry to hear about Lana's discomfort and hope she feels better soon and regains normal health. My best wishes to you both.
Best wishes and prayers for Lana, glad that you guys were relatively unscathed all things considered.
grats on you and your home surviving isaac... sorry about lana's car and the food loss, they sound minor compared to your neighbor...
sorry she's still feeling badly, speeding prayers, best wishes and all the positive energies i can must to her
as for the school year, you will overcome that setback, too
Welcome back and good to hear you were so lucky with the property damage.
Hope lana can talk again soon. bein unable to do it is something stressful and i hope she can do irt again soon.
Good to hear that you and Lana made it through the storm! My best wishes to Lana.
Vesper, thanks, we appreciate it.
Prashant, I'm hoping she'll start improving any day now.
David J., thanks, man.
Laughingwolf, yeah, the car will be fine if I can keep out the mold.
Deka, me too.
Merisi, thank you.
Glad to hear that you are back at home where the heart is and Lana can rest more comfortably.
Oh Charles,
This is such a rough time for both of you! I'm glad the storm didn't do too much damage to your property, but I'm so very worried about Lana -- sending you both lots of love and healing thoughts!
Charles Odorban from Sams Kills m mildew and other microbes... if you are able to get to a Sam's....
Although you seem relatively unscathed by Isaac (minus travel costs and spoiled food), the news about Lana isn't good. I'm hoping that her condition is more due to the meds than the illness, because it seems that doctors could change the meds.
I'm praying that she's about to turn a corner in her treatment, and that soon her appetite, voice and the rest of her health come back quickly. My best to her, you and the rest of your family during this time.
SEnding good wishes that things will improve for you and Lana. I hope now that her treatment's winding down that her throat will start healing.
Glad you had no damage from the storm, but sorry it's been so hard on Lana. Prayers her appetite returns soon.
Crazy summer for you, indeed. I hope being home brings Lana some much-needed comfort. I wish you both all the best :)
I'm glad to hear there wasn't too much damage; sorry to hear about Lana, though. I hope she's feeling better soon--sending good thoughts.
Glad you guys are okay!
Lana's favorite jello flavor mixed with whatever she might find appetizing is worth a try, my friend. When my brother came out of chemo/radiation, cherry jello with grapes or pineapple chunks was all he could stand. Another one he loved during the aftermath was Klondike Bars. I'm glad the collateral damage from the storm was less damaging than expected.
It's good to hear that you rode out the storm as well as you did. I'm sorry for Lana's discomfort.
Charles: Sounds like you can't seem to catch a break from the crappy weather that seems to hit the Gulf coast every summer.
Glad the both of you made it through with very minimal damage done to your humble abode.
And thanks for stopping by to say "hi" at the blogs this weekend.
Oscar, it's good to see her sleeping better.
Michelle, thanks. I sure hope she gets to feeling better soon.
Jeanette, thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind. I think there is a Sam's over on the south shore. I've never been to one.
X-Dell, I sure hope so. I think too some of the sickness she's feeling is the meds. I got her some vitamins today and hope that helps.
Shauna, I sure hope so. I will be so relieved when she starts to feel more like herself again.
Alex, we were lucky in one way, and not so much in the other.
L.A. we appreciate it.
Golden Eagle, definitely.
Sage, thankee.
Bernard, her main issue seems to be a great difficulty in swallowing. I've been trying to get her to do some ice cream and sherbert and she has done some. I made some fruit smoothies for her but she wasn't up to it.
Travis Cody, and back to school tomorrow. I hope she'll start feeling stronger soon.
G.B., I was missing visiting blogs.
Glad to hear you made it through the storm with minimal damage and no injuries. You and Lana have been in my thoughts and prayers since you evacuated and will stay there until she's made a complete recovery.
Keith, thanks, man. I sure hope so too.
Man, you guys are troopers. Similar health-related issues here, and the worry about losing power during these triple-digit days in the desert also concerns us. But you two get the award for stress management, for sure. Give Lana a hug from both of us.
I am so sorry that this darn storm made a difficult life even more difficult. My Mom had severe nausea problems for years and lived on various health food drinks for such. I am sure you have tried these but just in case...
Golly, Charles. Lana's illness sure makes the hurricane damage seem inconsequential, as bad as it was. Here's hoping she benefits from these treatments.
I'm impressed that you two don't just get back up when knocked down lately, it seems you're never leaving your feet in the first place. It's inspiring. Hang in there -- all storms pass!
Thanks for the update. Wishing Lana a speedy recovery~!
Good luck with school and getting the yard and car back in shape. Rough with the neighbors, the scalp and all.
Glad you folks are back and settled in. I do hope Lana makes slow steady progress - day by day.
About the car. I trust there wasn't any salt water mixed in with what came up to the floorboards? I lost two cars at the shore during a northeaster. If salt hits the floorboards, the insurance company has to declare it totaled because that means salt hit the breaks (calipers etc.). What happens is everything is good for a couple months till the salt works its way through the brakes. I was told the insurance company won't total unless pushed.
Of course, it no salt was in the water, you're good.
Just an fyi.
Charles, I was praying and thinking about you two. Beefing up the prayers for Lana and that she'll think of something she can nibble on that will give her nutrition and strength.
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