The Heart of the Beast (Story of a Train Wreck)

I'll get back to sports in a minute (OK...next week) but I'd like to tell you about the train wreck.

Oh, you heard all about the train wreck?  About how our community really pulled together and how everybody is OK and all that?

Great.  There is all that.  But there's more.  There's the insider's perspective that maybe you hadn't heard yet.

Here's the scoop:  My son and his family live about 300 yards from the wreck site.  For whatever reason, they didn't get the evacuation notification. 

When they did find out, they headed for my house.  But that was only after several hours in the "hot zone."

So a bit later, when my 2 year old grandson developed a cough, it was decided that they should all head for the hospital.

For the record, let me state that I work for Blount Memorial Hospital. And I've worked in health care for almost 38 years. So if you sense bias here, so be it.   

Anyway, my wife and grandson were the first to arrive, meeting me at the bay to the Emergency Room, where staff had set up a triage center.  It was about noon and there was a steady stream of arrivals, some by ambulance, some by private vehicle.

They were quickly taken to the decontamination area.  My wife could have opted out but there was no way she was going to send her grandson through that without her.

Their clothes were taken, I sprayed them down with a soap mixture, and they went through a series of four showers.  They were then given scrubs to wear and taken to the Emergency Room.

Along the way, mom, dad, and sister all arrived so we were soon all together.  What followed were blood work (not fun for the little ones), x-rays, medical exams, and constant monitoring.

After four hours of observation and no symptoms, the adults were discharged.  The children, however, were transferred to East Tennessee Children's Hospital where they spent the night and went home the next day.  All OK.

I'm sure that over the next few weeks, we will hear stories of people going out of their way to help each other.  That's the kind of community we live in. 

But from my point of view--from someone who was inside the beast-- here's the bottom line:  Our hospital (my hospital) did awesome.  They were ready.  They were efficient.  They were compassionate. 

There's a nurse named Wayne there that my family will always be beholden to.

Children's Hospital did great too.  Though not at the epicenter of the disaster, they were also prepared and efficient and compassionate.

At the end of the day, we should all be glad to know that our health care system works.

Even in the face of a catastrophic event like this.

And that's a good feeling.