Abstract
1350 J Clin Psychiatry 66:11, November 2005 t was my first visit to the Big Easy. Since childhood, I’d been eager to explore New Orleans—such a rich melange of culture and history. The mingling of French sophistication, great food, jazz, mysterious voodoo roots, and a southern American laissez-faire attitude has held such an allure. Little did I know that this dream weekend getaway would develop into such a tragic, life-altering experience. I decided to tag along with a group of Chicago-based infectious disease physicians as a chance to visit the Crescent City. I had planned a weekend of exploring the city while my partner was attending conference meetings. Being on a busy consultation rotation during my senior year of psychiatry residency, I hadn’t had a chance to keep up with the news. Only after arriving late on a Friday night in this great city and glancing at the airport television did I discover that a giant hurricane named Katrina was growing over the Gulf of Mexico and about to pounce on New Orleans. It seemed unreal. Because I had grown up in rural Appalachia and was now training in Chicago, the idea of a hurricane seemed impossible. Surely the storm would change directions? These things never follow the predicted course? Much less directly hit a major urban area? On Saturday, business went on as usual. My partner attended conference meetings, and I decided to take a morning walk to explore the vibrant French Quarter, which was just blocks from our hotel. The distant sounds of jazz and smells of jambalaya and bayou were intoxicating, but I couldn’t get lost in this maze as I’d hoped. Certain details kept me preoccupied and grounded in an uneasy reality: bars and storefronts being boarded up, a near-empty Bourbon Street, and, upon my return to the Hurricane Katrina wreaked tremendous havoc on the Gulf Coast and its inhabitants. It also revealed defects in governmental infrastructures for dealing with disasters—defects that cost lives and shocked America and the world. The Journal thanks Dr. Shane Spicer for sharing the following personal saga of the storm and its aftermath. —AJG
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