A little over five weeks ago, I deployed on my first Red Cross national disaster assignment to the Red Cross Hurricane Gustav relief headquarters in Baton Rouge, LA. I checked in at headquarters and was then sent to an area 30 miles west of New Orleans. Being a RN, my professional expertise was called upon to help Red Cross staff and volunteers with their medical needs during their deployments.

I worked closely with the staff and did not have as much interaction with clients. But, from what I saw and heard, our volunteers were doing great things for the people along the Gulf Coast. There was mass destruction including widespread power outages and contaminated water. Red Cross volunteers set up shelters and worked tirelessly to distribute food and water to the affected areas.

I was deployed for about two weeks in Louisiana and then came back home to Fairview Heights. After five days home, I heard the Red Cross needed more volunteers with a nursing background for the Hurricane Ike relief efforts. So, even though I had just arrived home from my first assignment, I volunteered to go to Texas. I arrived at the Hurricane Ike relief headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, checked in, and started making my way to Galveston. However, I was detoured to Houston for two weeks to help out at a kitchen. When the kitchen closed, I was sent on to Galveston for a week.

The damage left by Ike in Texas wasn’t caused so much by the wind as the widespread flooding. Huge boats were out on the highways, miles from the coast. Again, power was out and the water was undrinkable. One town, Crystal Bay, was totally obliterated. The path of destruction was large, but thousands of volunteers from FEMA, Red Cross, Southern Baptists, and more spent 12-16 hour days helping the residents begin the road to recovery.

I just got back last Thursday, and I am looking forward to a little rest. Going on disaster assignment is no vacation, but the work is satisfying. There were days I did not feel I was contributing much, but there was always someone there to tell the story of how the Red Cross helped them when they needed it the most. We received so many thanks from the people along the Gulf Coast that it was great. I was proud to be there and look forward to my next assignment.