Just wanted to say "Hi!"

[southern belle]

It's been a long time since I have been on the board. I have been thinking about Hostboard a lot lately with the anniversary of Katrina coming up. I remember how much so many of you did to help my fellow Louisianians and I just wanted to say "Thank you!" again. I did a search on the old "Hurricane Katrina" topic so I could print off all of your kind messages, but I think that it had already been deleted.

I can't tell you how special that package was that you sent to me in December. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img] I noticed during my search for the Katrina posts that some of you who sent items in that package missed my orginal "Thank You!" post. I am SO sorry that you didn't know for so long that I had received your wonderful gifts. I had just found out the week before, that my Mom had Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. I was really having a hard time dealing with it when that package arrived. Your lovely gifts came at a time when I really needed a lift.

I spent many weeks at MD Anderson with my mom, but unfortunately, at the end of February she passed away. It was a huge shock to my family. 64 is way too young to die. We had only about 2 1/2 months from the time we found out that she was sick until she died. I have not been on the board because I have been trying to get a grip on the whole situation. It all happened too fast. I remember her hauling dog food to the animal shelters and working with the Red Cross in September. We had no idea she was so sick.

Anyway, I just wanted to say "Hi" from Louisiana and let you know that you have been in my thoughts. I hope to spend some time posting on HB now that the big kids are back in school. I think it will be a fun diversion.

Bayou Belle [img]smile.gif[/img]

[amyjoy]

Welome back!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Sorry to hear about your mom passing [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img] .

[Felicity_Fan85]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom.

Welcome back!

[nycgal]

It's good to see you posting again! I remember how intently I read your posts after Katrina. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother.

We don't hear much about Louisiana on the news anymore...what are things like now, a year later?

[southern belle]

I live outside of New Orleans, close to Baton Rouge. I have only been in New Orleans a couple of times this year. This is what I remember. On the way to the airport, things look much better than the reality of the rest of the city. The cynic in me says that the airport and the entrance to it have been cleaned up so that people who are passing through won't realize how bad the rest of the city really is. Much of the rest of the city looks like downtown Beirut. It is so sad. The city is still very under-populated. It is like a ghost town.

On the other hand, much of the retail economy in Baton Rouge is thriving. Some people say it will be the "New New Orleans", but that is only in the shopping sense. Obviously, New Orleans has such a unique heritage that no city could ever take its place. We still have a major traffic issue in Baton Rouge from all the new residents, but the traffic was already bad to begin with.

My kids have had the oportunity to help with clean up in New Orleans with our church youth group, but I prefer for them to help out closer to home. I am concerned with the possiblilty of toxic mold or dust in the debris. My concerns may be totally unfounded, but as a mom, I worry about health issues that could result years down the road. I would rather them help out somewhere where they don't need a mask.

[[email protected]]

Thank you so much for the update.

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

So many times I wonder about how the people are doing that I was with for my week in Baton Rouge. It's so sad to me that there's no way for me to find out how they're doing.

And I'm with you on keeping you kids away from the toxic mold and other toxic exposures. I think that we won't know the full effects of all that is down there environmentally, both short-term and long-term, for many years to come.

I've worried so much about all the pregnant ladies who were exposed to toxins in the water that they had to wade through, plus the mold afterwards. I know of some bad outcomes, but I tried and tried and could never get the CDC to issue an alert to all the health professionals across the country who are caring for these New Orleans evacuees. I fear that they won't care until someone does an interesting study, a few years from now, when it's too late to help these babies.

Welcome back! [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img] And please keep updating us on how things are going down there!

Joy

[dolllover]

Welcome back! Sorry about your mom. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ August 22, 2006 01:27 PM: Message edited by: AGfanatic ]</font>

[Polly Marie]

Glad to see that you can post again. Sorry about your Mother's passing. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]
It was good you could be with her.
Wishing you the very best for the future.
[img]graemlins/rainbow.gif[/img]
Polly Marie

[judiaci]

It is nice to see you posting. With the anniversary of Katrina, our newspaper has posted some articles. It is very troubling how that area seems to really be suffering terribly. I wonder why things can't move along faster.

I am very sorry to hear about your Mom's illness and passing. 64 is way too young to go. I hope she didn't suffer too much. [img]graemlins/broken_heart.gif[/img]

[Jeanette M.]

Belle, it is very good to see you here again and to read your close-at-hand update on the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. I so admired what you and your family did in the weeks following that devastating storm. Please accept my deepest sympathy for the passing of your wonderful mother. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img] I hope you will find more time to visit with us here - you have been missed. *reaches out in cross-country hug*