Yes that was us...

Yes, that was us last week in the news. The tornados that ripped thru Colorado came right thru here. The worst was six miles to the NE of me, the closest of several touched down 3/4 of a mile away. This is just one of those things you don't forget, one of the situations most will train for but never in their careers see.

It's hard to talk about because it's hard to explain all of the things that go on simultaneously during a disaster. My base is the hospital, so when an external disaster occurs and the rest of our crews are getting ready to head off to take care of the community, my first priority is activating our hospital's EMS protocals, as the hospital really is it's own community in and of itself. Not only do we have to lock down the hospital and evacuate all of our patients and families from their rooms, from the departments and daycares and get the staff out and into the emergency areas, we have to begin preparing for the incoming casualties and fatalities to come.

I carry on my person two pagers, two cells, my radio, and during that time I don't think there was a minute that passed that they were not toning me, or worse yet, paging me overhead in the hospital. When you hear the operator announcing that an External Disaster has been declared, then five seconds later hear your own name being paged overhead to three different locations you know it is not a good thing.

I cannot explain to you what its like when that little switch inside me kicks on and the commander in me comes out. It's a smooth calm feeling that settles in and takes over to cope with each situation as it arises. Can't explain it any different than that. How it turns on and copes with the 60 crying hysterical children from daycare who are petrified and scared and need reassuring and diversions to calm them down... It's the same sense that takes over and carefully explains to people why they cannot just up and leave right now and tell them that their non emergent surgery will have to be postponed until this crisis is over as we need to have the surgeons ready to go to meet the emergencies coming in... Its the same tone you take to explain to the office staff that no, they need to be in the shelter too because if something does happen, we are going to look in the shelters first to do headcounts of everyone who was where they should have been. We aren't going to know where to look for you if you are not where you are suppose to be... It's sitting with the elderly patients who are confused and almost as scared as the little kids are. They get startled by the staff around them who are sitting on cell phones relaying news stories and rumors and spreading general panic. Finally I rounded up the gossip mongers and asked them to please cease and desist with these news bites, as all it was doing was upsetting those around them, and it was not making the situation any better.

I cannot describe for you either what driving thru a disaster area is like as you head for the triage command center. How you nose thru areas where what is left of homes, yards, cars, and streets are all blended into one solid area. You cannot tell where one ends and the others begin. Things strewn litterally everywhere, clothes hanging from trees and lines, wood that has shattered from extreme force and been blown everywhere, pancaked cars and trucks that will never resemble a vehicle again, homes stripped of walls and roofs and rooms- resembling skeletons more than anything else Its amazing how much damage can happen in such a short amount of time.

Setting up at the triage command point people pour in with a wide range of injuries, mostly lacerations and abrasions needing stiching, a few broken bones needing transport, and a few more serious injuries. Over and over again people describe to us exactly what they went thru, where they were-what they did when the storm hit. The stories all sound similar, but many end happily as friends find neighbors or other friends again and are reunited at the center. Despite it all, and the hell that surrounds us outside, you know that these people have spirit and will be back to straightening their lives out again. They have friends and families coming to help, to stay with, and volunteers to help them on their way again.

After seeing all of these things in the course of the day is a humbling experience. By the time I did get time off again I spent it buried deeply in my gardens in the backyard, seeking some kind of solace. As I worked on the yard I gave thanks for all I had and did not lose, and then let my mind roam and wander and think out all of the images and thoughts it needed to process so that it could get over things.

So Yes, that was us in the news. Our neighboring city actually. No the storm did not directly hit my home, but it certainly has struck my life.