Louisiana Sandusky, who is now in Sri Lanka, helping out the victims of the recent natural disaster, records her feelings in her journal.

Days Three and Four~

I don't know if I can take any more of this...too much in the way of tragedy and heartbreak, too much in the way of devastation and ruin...the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes assault my senses like a plague, and what I have seen so far has seemed to change me forever...

And it is only the beginning.

This is Louisiana Sandusky writing, and I am in Sri Lanka as I record this. I am but one small part of a humanitarian relief team from Nashville, Tennessee, and we are here to offer medical aid to people who are truly in great need. We are here to aid survivors of the recent earthquake-induced tsunami which decimated not only Sri Lanka, but parts of Kenya, Tanzania, and Somalia in eastern Africa, Thailand, Bengladesh, Mynanmar (formerly Burma), and at least three/four other countries. As of the latest news reports that are coming from CNN and various other news resources, over 150,000 people died as a result of the disaster, and millions more were reported to be "missing or unaccounted for". And with the ever-present threat of disease, the toll could even climb higher.

What I have seen upon arrival caused tears to prick at my eyes, but I wasn't really prepared for what I was to witness later. There was damage and debris littering the dirt-laden, battered landscape, as far as the eye could see, and the area looked as though a nuclear bomb had hit it. There was very little evidence that the area had once been a thriving city or a bustling village. Bodies, bloated in death, littered the ground, and animals ran about, searching desperately for a morsel of food. Some of these animals were so hungry they started feasting on the bodies of the people--or other animals--that lay upon the ground. The sight of the cannibalistic activity of the animals caused me to retch; but I soon swallowed the bile that threatened to rise to my throat from my gullet, and I pushed the horrifying image from my mind as I waited for the bus that would take me to the makeshift hospital where I was presently working.

As I got onto the bus and took my seat, I started to cry in spite of myself. Dr. Wright, who was sitting right next to me, looked at me, concern written on his face; but I told him that I was okay, that I was just thinking about my family back home in America, and that I was missing them all terribly.

I was thankful that my family didn't have to see what I was seeing. That I was very grateful for.

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Upon arriving at the hospital, the Sri Lankan medical team greeted us yet again in their warm, friendly, hospitable manner, and they talked to us about the patients who were at the makeshift hospital, informing us of the latest in their medical conditions.

The nameless little girl was still in a coma, and she was still breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. Her vital signs were fairly stable, but her reflexes were starting to improve; but she was still hanging on by a fragile thread. The little one was clearly still in danger, and time would only tell whether she would survive or not or whether she would emerge from the coma without sustaining some form in the way of physical or brain damage.

My other main patient, a woman in her later 30's to early 40's, was suffering with a raging case of pneumonia, and she had an infection in one of her legs: her leg was swollen, hard and hot to the touch, and it looked angry in appearance. She was still feverish, and her breathing was still rather labored. She was still on the oxygen via the mask, and she still had the nasogastric tube in her nose. Her thin arms were lashed to the thin, dirty mattress she lay on, and she was clearly in a lot of pain.

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~Later (the same day):~

I am sitting here now, enjoying a well-needed break. I am also waiting for Adhita Roy to come out of surgery. Her leg wasn't looking any better, even with the regimen of antibiotics that she had been given, so Dr. Venkatesh Arjuwal concluded that the best course of action was to amputate her leg, as it couldn't be saved. She was starting to show the beginning signs of necrotizing fasciitis, a lethal, and very deadly bacterial infection that could kill if it wasn't immediately treated. If she hadn't had this done as soon as possible, she would have only gotten worse, and she would have more than likely died from massive infection and profound shock.

When I had checked on her earlier, she was delirious with fever, and she was still in a great deal of pain. She also had a fever of over 104 degrees. I was, no doubt, very concerned about her outcome.

I also had checked on the little comatose girl with no name. There was some improvement in her condition: she was exhibiting more in the way of normal reflex action, and even felt when doctors pinched her in various places on her small body. She was also starting to respond to commands elicited by the doctors and was now making facial grimaces when the doctors performed their neurological tests on her.

But alas..we still had no way of knowing if she sustained any brain or physical damage until she woke up from her coma. We also had no way of knowing her name until she emerged from her coma--that is, if she could still talk once the respirator had been removed from her throat.

I also had a new patient who had been brought into the hospital: a tiny baby who was not much older than six months in age. He didn't appear to be hurt, but he was very scared, and he didn't even cry or pull away when we examined him. He must have liked the way I looked or smelled because he kept staring at me with these big, black eyes. When I held him in my arms, he regarded me carefully. I guess he felt that I must have been his mother or something because once he got used to me holding him, he snuggled into my arms, sighed contentedly, took one of my fingers into his small, tiny, chubby hand, and grasped it tightly. Before long, his long-lashed eyes soon closed in sleep, and he was now sleeping contentedly.

I will write again; have to go back to work. Seems that Adhita Roy is now out of surgery; will have to see how she is faring. I will write more when I have some free time; but I AM glad that I am here, where I am at least making some difference in deserving people's lives!

~Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky, R.N.