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Care after Katrina Ambulance crew from Stafford puts in long days in Katrina rescue and recovery effort Date published: 9/14/2005
By RUSTY DENNEN BATON ROUGE, La.--It's still dark outside and hot as a Cajun oven as Kevin Dillard walks through the darkened corridor of The Center of Hope to awaken his ambulance crew. Slowly they drag themselves from bed after only three or four hours of sleep to face another day in and around the devastated city of New Orleans, about 50 miles to the south. Since they arrived almost two weeks ago, this group of 10 rescue workers in their five ambulances are witnesses to the aftermath of a natural disaster that will define a generation. "You never know what any day is going to be like," says Dillard, 45, president of LifeCare Medical Transports, based in Stafford County. On any given day, they might be administering tetanus and hepatitis A shots, relieving emergency care workers, aiding residents of this now practically deserted city, or going about the grim task of removing bodies from hospitals and nursing homes. And then there's the stark reality of responding to one of the nation's worst natural disasters: sitting and waiting around the Emergency Operations Center set up in televangelist Jimmy Swaggert's ministry offices off Interstate 10. Those helping Dillard here are ordinary Virginians working in extraordinary circumstances, helping people cope, and often saving lives one call at a time. There's Kirby Sage, 47, of Rural Retreat, and Bill Kerley, 40 of Hillsville, who work in LifeCare's Southwest Virginia office; JR Berry, 35, and his wife, Deanna, 35 of Spotsylvania, William Byrd, 37 of Caroline, Will Hurlbut, 22, of Stafford, Darrel Johnson, 32, of Montross, Dawn Sklepovich, 50, of Spotsylvania and Jason Gonzales, 34, of Caroline. Yesterday morning after they signed in at the EOC, they sat in the lobby, next to the massive fountain, commiserating about getting no sleep, teasing each other good-naturedly, and waiting for their first call of the day. "It's just hurry up and wait," Dillard said of the numbing daily routine, but one the crew is happy to do, with little regard for themselves, all the time missing the comforts of home.
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