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Mangrum: Could you describe how your conditions were different than your neighbor's conditions. Warren: My conditions were different because first of all I have a son on a ventilator. Immediately we started thinking of how we were going to get power. We charged the batteries, and we don't have a generator. We had enough power to last for two days, possibly three. We decided we were going to stay here (home) and stick it out. Mangrum: Andy is also in a wheelchair. Was that any concern to you as far as the hurricane and that condition. Were you worried about that condition and not being able to get around? Warren: Well, no because I have been through a hurricane before, and I know they are just a mess. You do without water or electric for three days and then they just clean up. Mangrum: When did you first realize that the hurricane was going to hit Miami? Warren: That morning. Sunday morning. His doctor called about 6:30 and wanted to know what I was doing with him (Andy), and so he said we should go over to Baptist Hospital. I said, "Well we're thinking of staying here. We're gonna wait around and see if there is . . ." "Well, I'm calling anyway, and I think you should go and I'm going to call over there." Mangrum: What was your first concern. Warren: Well, Andy, of course. We had decided we were going to stay here, so then we started taking everything in. Mangrum: What special things--I had already had you describe a little bit about your special conditions, but did you think there were any special conditions that you had to prepare for after the hurricane other than electric. Warren: Just electric and power. I had already been through this before. In three days you usually have power and everything and life pretty much gets back to normal. Mangrum: How else did Andy's doctors help you prepare for the hurricane? Did they just tell you to come over to the hospital. Warren: Aw huh. Basically all I needed for Andy was a hospital bed and power. And that we knew we could get by going to Baptist. Mangrum: Where did you stay during the hurricane? Warren: Well, at 5 o'clock as I said we were going to stay here. Then about 5 o'clock they were saying this was a major, a MAJOR hurricane, so then I said this was not going to be your ordinary hurricane that I've been through before, so we decided to go over there. At 5 o'clock I took him in--he and his nurse(Andy has around the clock nursing care) and myself. We went to Baptist and, of course, at Baptist they wanted to put him in ICU because he is on a ventilator and then hook him up to monitors and all and that is ridiculous because he is stable and doesn't need all that. So anyway, we decided to take him to the shelter in the rehab center at Baptist where they were taking anybody who needed any kind of medical equipment that goes at Baptist. They were very nice there. They gave him food and anything he wanted. So they gave us a bed and power. Mangrum: What were the doctors at Baptist Hospital--were they worried about the hurricane hitting them also? Did you hear any talk within the hospital or within the staff of conditions they might have at the hospital? I know they were sure until the last minute exactly if it was going to hit Perrine or if it was going to hit downtown Miami or what area specifically? Warren: They pretty much knew that it was coming and so they were fully prepared. They had the shelter set up, and the rehab, and people were checking in as we were coming in, and I have a friend from Key Largo. She came up, and he had to be admitted to a room. He is also on a ventilator. I knew another boy with Muscular Dystrophy, and he went up on the floor. Mangrum: Did you stay at the hospital during the hurricane? Warren: Yes, I stayed in the hospital in the shelter with him and his nurse. Andy slept in the bed, and they gave us mats to put at the foot of the beds. It was filled up. There were a lot of people. Mangrum: What did you hear at the hospital about the storm? Could you hear the wind gusts? Warren: About 4 o'clock the power went off in the hospital. Mangrum: In the hospital? Warren: In the hospital. They went, you know, it was kind of eerie, and then the hospital generators went on, and a lot of sound, the wind, I kept hearing this clanging and I said what is it and that's the wind. It was very eerie. And they had sandbags up in front of all the outside doors, and water was coming in the windows. The wind was ferocious. I could see out of the ------- you know, in the center where they have the little pineapple fountain. That's what I was facing. Mangrum: You were facing north, then? Warren: I was facing east. Toward the Rehab Center. I could see the wind, and the water was coming through. The doors were like buckling like, but they didn't . . .give, then a few broke. They had the maintenance men all going around repairing as they broke with the plywood they were working all night. And I was concerned with the ducks. You know they have the little ducklings, and they made it through because the next morning I went out and all the trees were down but the little ducklings were walking behind their mother and I don't know where they went, but they survived. Mangrum: What went through your mind when the power went off? I know that that had to be quite an experience. Warren: Well nothing. I mean, you know, I knew Andy was going to be fine. Mangrum: What effects do you think the hurricane has had on your family? After the hurricane. How has this affected you? Warren: Well, it has affected me. It changed me completely. I'm not the same person. There has been a pre Andrew, and now there's a post Andrew. I mean I lost my son (another son to Muscular Dystrophy) Matthew in December, and this was so dramatic to me, it is like when I came home and I saw Melody, my daughter, she came to the hospital and said, "Mom, you're not going to believe what you're going to see when I take you home," she said, "it's devastation, so prepare yourself." When we left Kendall Drive, I saw everything all over the road. And when I saw the church--the Baptist church--with half of it gone out when I came from the expressway, I couldn't believe it and then it was like a war zone. When I got here, and like I said before, hurricanes before were a mess of trees and broken glass. But when I saw my house and all the screening in the pool, the windows gone, the roof gone, it was like I was devastated. I just thought there was no way I'm going to come out of this. No way I'm going to come out of it. And it just kept getting worse and worse. I went back to the hospital, and then Stanley's brother came with a generator and we could bring Andy home because there was no water at the hospital, can you believe that. No water. So the conditions there were very unsanitary. I have a friend that's an obstetrician, and she delivered a baby there and like in M A S H, they were pouring sterile water over her hands out of a bucket. That's how she had to operate. So we got the generator; we got Andy. Mangrum: How many days after the hurricane was this? Warren: Two days after, I think, we were able to bring him home. Two days at Baptist, and the air conditioning wasn't working right. So we came home. No electricity, of course. We hooked up the water to the generator to take a cold shower which was wonderful. All the neighbors came with their towels and soap. And we lived on the patio with no windows, and the mosquitoes were eating us up. Mangrum: How did Andy react when he came home because he came home two days after and you had already been here. Warren: Well, I would go back to the hospital. But when Andy saw it, Andy's room wasn't touched. Everything, thank God, is back up, I mean, was laying by his bed and all his equipment and everything was fine because he is on the southwest side. And Andy did wonderful. No infections, nothing. It's amazing how well he did. Mangrum: How has the hurricane changed your daily routine in the house? Do you not think about things? Warren: I live from day to day. I've always wanted to live in the now. Well now I live in the now. I didn't want to learn how to live in the now like this, but I don't know what day it is, what time it is. I know that Thanksgiving is coming soon, but no preparation for anything. I used to keep a journal and write in my journal every day. I was very organized. Now my paperwork is destroyed and I through it all out. If I have an appointment, I write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the refrigerator. Mangrum: How has the hurricane changed your plans for the future? Warren: I guess it really hasn't except I wasn't planning to redecorate. I had no major moves or anything as far as that goes. Mangrum: Were there any additional medical needs that you had to worry about for Andy after the hurricane? Warren: We made sure that he had enough supplies and everything. Of course, we weren't prepared that the medical places were going to be hit or have problems. And we could get emergency medicine if we needed it. Mangrum: Did the doctors tell you or did they warn you that you would be able to get these supplies? Warren: Well, he had enough backup supplies, and he is not on much medication, but this I just wasn't anticipating anything like what happened. In no way. And I learned one thing--you are on your own. If anything major happens like what happened, you have to go and get ice for yourself, you have to go for the generator. To me it was frightening because for some reason I thought somebody was going to come in or somebody would be here. I don't know who, but like FPL or whatever they would be there. Nobody was there. It is only the basic family unit. It is what you depend on. Your neighbors and friends are taking care of their needs. I never expected anything like that. Mangrum: A lot of people say that the community has really come together. Do you feel that way? Warren: Well, our neighborhood has always been that way. Yes, we never had time for one another before. We were always doing our own things. And now we were together all the time. We would come here and eat. I guess we had a lot of time just to talk with each other. We never had this before it happened. Mangrum: Are there any positive outcomes that you see as a result of the hurricane? Warren: Like I say, my mound that I was trying to have a backhoe take away. I think that once the neighborhood comes back which will be a year or two will be a prettier neighborhood. I guess people who didn't know if they wanted to move or not made the decision for them. I guess it is for the better, I don't know. Mangrum: How has your family dealt with this? Warren: I think they have all dealt very well with it. My husband looks at it like an adventure. He always wanted to camp out. Now he says, "Look, you're camping out." I never wanted to camp out, by the way. And he says you will be able to tell your grandchildren you lived through it--you were there. The greatest national disaster, and Andy has also looked at it like an adventure. I don't think he was apprehensive at all, maybe a bit before we got to the hospital, but even then he seemed pretty calm. Melody seemed to be okay. I was the one, like I say, it was very devastating to me. I think a woman's house is my house and who I am. Mangrum: Were there any other conditions or situations that were interesting or were special to your family that didn't happen to other families or anything else that you would like to add. Warren: I'm sure it happened to all families. With a Winnegabo sitting in by back yard, a lot of funny things happened. The roach coach comes around the neighborhood with the rah da da rah da at noon. I never thought I'd be living with that. My day starts very early with the hammering. But like I say, it has changed everybody. Mangrum: Has it affected Andy in the way he gets around? Warren: Well, we weren't able to go anywhere to get out. He got a few flats. No, he couldn't go anywhere for a few days probably but as soon as he could Andy was out. Andy would find a movie that was open somewhere. One thing I can say about your previous question about something unusual. We would use Andy for any of the power companies. We would send Andy out in the street. We did get windows before anyone because we said Andy had to have windows. Mangrum: Has his routine changed any? Warren: Like I said, he wasn't able to go out for a little bit. Well, in a way it did because he was going to the Meade program where he was going to start school at the North Dade Center. I guess everything was delayed. He hasn't started yet. He is going to start. We had appointments that we had no phone for a while. Nobody had phones so we couldn't get in touch with anyone. He could have been affected that way. Mangrum: Is there anything else you would like to add that you think was special. Warren: No. |
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