The Hurricanes

Living on the Gulf Coast, hurricanes are a familiar concern. Having lived in the Houston area, we had never evacuated for tropical storms or threat of hurricanes. We just 'hunkered down' and prepared with all safety precautions in place. 

Dennis was actually doing well in 2005.  We were three years into the diagnosis of Alzheimer's but with small adjustments we were doing well.  But when reports of an oncoming hurricane were being predicted, our daughter Sondra insisted that we join her family in an evacuation journey.  Sadly, millions of other people in the Houston area had the same idea. We were driving a caravan of three vehicles with a baby, toddler, three dogs and a cat when we met up with gridlock on the freeway.  The temperature was hoverin at about 100+ degrees.  We determined it best to take the toll road thinking that would be a better route.  What we found was bumper-to-bumper vehicles traveling North from Houston at a speed of about 10-15 mph. 

Our destination was Austin.  The trip from Houston to Austin would normally have taken 3 hours but in that instance it took almost 24 hrs.  It was one of the most frightening things I have ever experienced.  Gas was not readily available so when you did find a station, the lines were miles long.  Restrooms along the way were even more scarce.  Small necessities that make a trip normal were all but gone. What we learned real quick was to turn off the air conditioner and moving at that slow pace you would preserve gas.   Since we left the house late in the afternoon, we welcomed sundown in this dastardly heat.  Even in the heat of the night temperatures were soaring such that we had wash cloths to wipe the forehead and faces of the little ones and just enough water to keep the animals hydrated. 

Dennis was a great help keeping the kids occupied and the animals attended to.  My concern for him was the medications he had to take and with food.  We hadn't planned for the length of this trip so food was the first thing we ran out of and water was scarce. By the next morning, still stuck in this slow moving caravan, we called our son in Austin to see if he had any ideas of a different route that would help us escape the heavily traveled evacuation route.  He routed us away from the heaviest traffic through small towns and a little before noon, we were able to pick up the pace at about 25-30 mph. When water was our greatest need for the little ones and animals, we noticed a hose behind a closed business in a rural community. It was like a mirage in the dessert. We pulled over to take advantage of 'God's gift'.  After drinking the warm water from that hose, We ran water over the little ones and the animals the animals to provide relief from the heat.  The six of us were safe in Austinafter the 24 hr trip. Our son and family greeted us with shelter and rest just one day before Katrina hit land.

On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was in the Gulf of Mexico where it powered up to a Category 5 storm packing winds estimated at 175 mph.  The hurricane made a direct hit on New Orleans and the rest is history.

With that experience, I pledged to myself that Dennis and I would not evacuate again.  Instead, we would take all precautions to stay safely in our home.  Returning back to work, I heard people speak for weeks about how terrible the experience had been.  For me it was more meaningful to put pencil and paper to work... I wrote a poem, "In HIS Loving Arms".  In that poetry I tried to shake loose of the frightening and dangerous journey we had experienced and replace it with positive thoughts.  I don't know what happened with that poem but it was a reflection of our family members staying strong with no panic, how strangers were helping strangers, and there was no road rage or gun toting gangsters taking advantage of defenseless people.  What I chose to remember was people united in one goal -- to be safe and get out of the way before Katrina landed its force. Facing imminent danger, there was less crime during that time than one might expect.  I thought of how blessed we were that the hurricane did NOT hit all those helpless individuals traveling the roads.

Three years later, weather advisors were predicting another hurricane.  This one was predicted to hit the Galveston area.  Since I already knew that we would not evacuate, we got busy preparing the house for possibility of a few days with no electricity.  In addition, Dennis and I worked diligently to clear all possible objects from the yard that could fly with the high winds only to cause unnecessary damage.  We planned for the worst case scenario where we would take a direct hit with supplies in a big walk in closet.  Even though Dennis knew what we were doing, it was now 2008 and he didn't seem to be concerned with any of the dangers.  He just did his best to help with tasks as I presented them to him.

September 16, 2008-- Hurricane Ike slammed into the Gulf Coast, shredding buildings, flooding streets, and knocking out power for millions of people. With winds reaching 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour, Ike came ashore over Galveston, Texas, as a strong Category 2 storm just after 3 a.m. EST. The massive storm, nearly as big as Texas itself, moved over Houston before dawn. 

The high powered winds hit before the eye of the storm.  It was nighttime and we lost all power.  Dennis and I just laid down to try and rest.  My goal was to keep him calm as the storm passed over.  It must have been about 2 am when we were heard a loud blast of breaking glass.  I ran to the living area to see the window had exploded.  The closed blinds kept the flying glass from doing much damage but the heavy rains had found a new home.  Normally Dennis would have taken charge and I would have assisted.  I saw his look of confusion!  He was at a loss.  With only a flashlight, I headed for the garage.  I remembered seeing a window size piece of plywood by the cabinet.  My only thought was to see if that piece of plywood would cover that area and keep the rain from pouring in.  Dennis followed me running back and forth.  He expressed concern, "What is going on?"  I asked him to just stay with me and we would be okay.  After seeing that the wood would cover, I had to find a way to anchor it in place.  The winds were blow extremely hard so the blinds were not holding back anything.  We moved furniture and I took hammer/nail to pound the wood and the blinds to the wall.  I want to tell you it wasn't 'pretty' but it was holding. 

With a sigh of relief, we moved back to the bedroom.  Dennis needed to use the bathroom but when we walked into the master bath there was water on the floor.  In the dark, couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  No broken windows were evident but while I was mopping it up I felt a drip.  The water was streaming in the ceiling vent.  There was a ceiling fan and vent in close proximity.  They were both providing a pathway for a steady stream of water.  After laying a pathway of towels to the commode, Dennis was safe to take care of business.

With water coming in the den window, water dripping from bathroom ceiling and later water coming in the kitchen ceiling, we were finally at a point where we went back to lie down and wait out the storm.  Once we were settled, Dennis seemed to calm like a child cuddled with parents during a storm.  I laid there wondering what we would wake up to at the dawn of  morning and how to possibly deal with all these damages without my husband.  I knew at that time he would not be the handyman who could help put things back together.  I had a challenge coming my way.

When the sun rose and the winds calmed (the eye of the storm), we looked outside to see a backyard 'carpeted' with black and silver shingles.  Our neighbors house had no shingles left.  Their shingles had most likely acted as a torpedo breaking our window.  Then there were the trees torn out by their roots.  There were foreign objects in the yard and flower beds that had obviously blown in during the night.  Once outside, we saw our roof had heavy damage with large areas of missing shingles as well.  No broken windows in the kitchen area but a substantial lead across the ceiling.  All in all, we were okay and the property damage would be taken care of. 

Scott called early that morning and asked how he could help.  I explained the situation and we decided he would bring supplies from Austin for both us and our daughter Sondra.  He brought two huge generators, large gas cans full of gas, extra long heavy duty extension chords and heavy duty trash bags for clean up.  It was a welcome site when he arrived.  Dennis was so happy to see him and did what he could to unload the truck.

Our insurance company suggested we move out of the house while repairs were made.  I explained that was not in Denny's best interest.  He was familiar with our home and I didn't want things to be any worse than they already were by taking him to a strange place to live.  A quick call to my brother Doug (in Iowa) got us some much needed help to supervise repairs and keep Dennis comfortble. 

With Doug's help, in approximately four weeks, I was able to get the insurance adjusters out in a timely fashion (not easy) and find the necessary contractors/subcontractors.  We had the house completely roofed and the dormer repaired to meet code.  We had an upstairs wall, master bedroom ceiling, kitchen ceiling and walls in dining room/den area all repaired and/or replaced.  We lived on cement floors and hollowed walls but we were 'home'.  Dennis spent every day in familiar surroundings and with family who were there to help out. 

With all the confusion and destruction, I praised God for a brother who was able to come help and an insurance company that understood the importance of keeping Dennis in his familiar surroundings.  There is no doubt in my mind, extra effort was made to get things done because of the challenges of Alzheimer's.  After all was said and done, we had much to be thankful for.

I share these two situations on the blog to remind others of the challenges facing families when there are storms and/or extreme heat weather conditions.  We were blessed to have family to readily help but not everyone has that assistance.  It is always good to check on your neighbors.  [As a matter of fact, Sondra used her generator and extension chords to help her two elderly neighbors who had no electricity.]  People helping people is such a blessing and all part of God's work.