Hurricane Katrina-Mission Mississippi
During 2005 and 2006, MMDR made 6 trips to the Mississippi area to assist people in need. The following are highlights from Mission Mississippi.
Two Guys, a Truck and a Trailer
After the hurricane, the first thing that was needed was a vehicle that could haul medical supplies
and maneuver the storm's wreckage. A dual-axel truck and 24-foot trailer were purchased.
The trailer would serve a dual purpose: It was filled with medical supplies, but once on the site, it doubled as
an operating room and a medical clinic. The team was able to drive through neighborhoods and
immediately tend to the sick.
An Alligator Bite and a Cup of Cold Water
When the team arrived they drove through neighborhoods looking for people who needed help.
One group of 16 people had been living in their ruined van! They ranged in age from 9 months to adults. They had survived by climbing into the three-foot high crawl space of their 500 square foot home. The floodwaters reached even that space, yet mercifully, they all survived. When MMDR arrived, it was their third day without food, water or medical attention. MMDR provided the necessary emergency food and water until the Red Cross feeding truck could arrive.
An elderly mother and daughter had survived the storm, but were trapped in their home because their steps had washed away and they feared the power lines they saw in their yard. One woman was a diabetic and the other had hypertension; they had been without insulin and medication for three days. The men carried the women to the mobile unit and began urgently needed medical care. They had also been without food for three days and water for one day.
A man had been severely bitten by an alligator three days before the team arrived. The bite was to the bone on the upper thigh, and the wound was about two feet long! Dr. Vanderpool treated the leg, packed it in gauze and kept in touch with him until he could be airlifted to a hospital. It was later reported that his leg was saved!
Trees and Trash
In early 2006, MMDR went back to Mississippi with a group of high school students to help clean and clear homes
and property for renewal. Dr. Vanderpool was also able to bring medical supplies and much needed work relief for
the local medical professionals for an indigent medical clinic.
Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina hit the US coast near the Mississippi-Louisiana border in August 2005, the lives of thousands were instantly changed. People were displaced without access to food or medical attention. The following article appeared in Southern Exposures Magazine chronicling the medical mission of David Vanderpool, M.D. to the region. God moved on David's heart, and on this trip, Mobile Medical Disaster Relief was born. Like a ripple upon a pond, Katrina altered lives nearby and far away; the storm that shifted the lives of so many, was used by the Hand of God to move one man to compassion and service.
Read the full story (as published in Southern Exposure Magazine)...
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6b