Medical help needed in Joplin MO, hospital hit by tornado - twitter is full of it

well right now I am on a 12 hour shift, 7pm-7am in the MSSU shelter. It was busy until around 2am and now its calming down.

today was the hardest day for me so far. I took a ride into the worst hit part of joplin to distribute supplies with a couple of EMT's and I found a dirty polaroid laying in the rubble of a demolished house of a father holding his newborn baby, and that sent me a little over the deep end.
 
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Easy, lady. You know that doesn't mean a thing. They could be up at Grandmom's posing for a new pic right now.

Just a little taste of the uncertainty which is all around you. My friend from Joplin here has an ex-fiancee' up there. He's not on her Christmas card list, or that of any of her friends or family. They probably think he doesn't give a damn one way or the other. He's not family, so he's not eligible for any kind of official notification. And he probably shouldn't be worried. But he's human, and he is worried.

But that doesn't mean she's not just fine.

Back before official notification became such a thorny legal issue, it was easier for everyone, not just family, to get past the uncertain stage...
 
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Nikki, you probably just think of yourself as plain old Nikki just doing what "anyone would do if they could". However, I hope you realize just how amazing of a person you really are. I know plenty of people who could help but "just have too much stuff to do or deal with" to physically get there and help in the way that you are. There are no adjectives I could use to describe how awesome you are. So thanks.


ETA: News is reporting the unaccounted for list is now at zero. Does that correlate with your knowledge of things as well?
 
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what you've been doing is it's own quiet heroism.
my heart goes out to everyone in or near joplin!!!
 
Thank you guys so much! That really made my day :)

And Roxi, as of two nights ago, I heard the unaccounted for list was at 10 but that was because they were waiting on DNA results (as the remaining unaccounted they only found appendages of)... so that could have definitely changed. I will ask around and update.
 
Things sure have changed since the fedgov got to town. I don't know what it's like up there, but where right after the storm you could call any area hospital and they'd show you the courtesy of saying, yes we have that patient or no we have no one by that name. This is over. And the announcements have ceased to make any sense. Fifteen hundred missing one day, one hundred fifty the next day, and everyone accounted for the day after.

It's like they sucked out all of the humanity. How do we get these people to go home?
 
Storms forecast to come through tomorrow evening (though they might be there sooner). Nothing major. Just a nice drop of several degrees in temperature.

Folks, this is close to the critical time for donations--the initial surge of generosity in the wake of the initial shock has worn off now, but the needs of these people have not yet abated. So, please--remember this town.
 
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^ absolutely true. The Greater Ozarks Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross needs donations, now more than ever! Bulldozing will start tomorrow, so mental health professionals are especially needed during this critical time.

The Red Cross as of June 8th has served 62,218 meals, 140,876 snacks, housed 2,892 people, distributed 110,771 recovery/clean-up items, aided 4,457 people in health services, aided 5,110 people in mental health services, and has currently 403 members on the ground in Joplin, MO.

My time in Joplin is unfortunately now over, and it has been a life-changing experience. The people in Joplin are so confident, optimistic, and passionate, and I think some did more for the volunteers in terms of spirit than the volunteers could do for them. I have learned so much. I know the RC has its faults, as many large organizations do, but what I saw out there was nothing short of many small miracles - people helping fellow people for the sake of just doing good for goodness sake.
 
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