I write this not from the comfort of a rock star hotel or a vacation destination that I was dying to visit. At the moment, I’m sitting in a hospital room in San Juan Presbyterian - where an encounter with some untreated water combined with an ear infection damn certainly made for a scary conclusion to my trip to Puerto Rico.
But journeying through Puerto Rico yesterday, a beautiful island home of American citizens tells me that I certainly am not the only one at risk, and definitely not someone facing the most risks.
San Juan, the city which became a talking point in the early weeks of recovery from Hurricane Maria, has begun to bounce back. Tourists arrive and businesses have their doors open. Some infrastructure is still lacking - stop lights are only sporadic in their functionality along with occasional power outages.
Outside of the city of San Juan, however, the rest of the island is still reeling from a lack of focus and care by the American mainland. Roads in drastic state of disrepair and sometimes they don’t exist at all; power is so randomized that there is no assurance you will have access anywhere, and water? Well, water is also in short order in many locations and at times risky, as I found out first hand.
Our journey took us to home of resident who continue to work hard and try to make their way, while knowing a lion share of their daily expenses are being gobbled up by expensive short-term fixes.
Cases of bottled water, gas generators, sanitary goods and dealing with food that must be eaten all at once - there is no refrigeration, so leftovers for many are impossible — that’s the daily reality of many still on the island.
And for these residents, they are what is left over. FEMA announced that with so “few left impacted” they would be leaving; in a radio announcement we heard them say ‘less than 1% impacted” at this point. Driving through the cities, though, I cannot imagine a way for that number to e true.
While Puerto Rico has made strides, local residents say they have been slow and costly - a cost that isn’t being returned in any way to the community.
Stopping at a Costco, generators and solar cells continue to leap off the shelves. But store clerks say that the announcement of Trump’s change in solar tariffs, they cost could go up significantly soon stripping the island of one more way to help sustain itself.
As we drove to Utuado, we stopped frequently to see the still remaining piles of debris where homes once stood; or the roadside hazards of damaged vehicles or furniture that had been destroyed and now was left out waiting for cleanup that may not happen.
We traveled to Utuado to meet with a man who was, frankly, one of the left over who had received no service. His house before the storm was small, but functional. At one point he had a simple life with his satellite TV and nice kitchen. A victim of prior heart attacks, the storm changed his world in a hurry.
He had medication - but with no clocks or means of refrigeration, he also had no way of knowing WHEN to take the medication or to store some of the medication he used to have. His back problems were significant, as his bedding was destroyed In Maria, leaving him on a foam core mattress less than a few inches thick; sleeping next to a concrete floor as everything else had been destroyed.
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With the help of relief workers and coordinators, we spent the day cleaning up the debris and trying to at least make sure he had somewhere to sleep safely. He would still be without power. Without water - as his pump was broken at the bottom of a hill - but there would be hope.
Driving to Utuado, it was discovered that a donor would be willing to help provide a gas powered water pump so that he could get running water restored; he had lived using combinations of bottled water and rain water fo since Maria, and this alone would be a major change. The removal of moldy debris and damaged property would clean up his grounds.
Now, it is likely somewhere in here, or the day before, I became exposed to untreated water and it was definitely by late midday that I was not feeling well. I texted my wife: “hey, I’m struggling to hear things now, I think maybe a sinus infection?” We agreed I’d go see a doctor after I got home to Kansas. I didn’t think much more of it at this point. Some pain, couldn’t pop my ears. It seemed worse than the day before, but no big deal.
Traveling back to San Juan there were more connections to make, delivering food and resources to more families who were stripped of their dignity and property. Standing in what used to be a kitchen, you could see a home that was roughly 1,400 square feet at one point, now reduced to a set of two rooms with less than 450sq feet as a living area.
The owner had been waiting for FEMA as well. She would receive the maximum disbursement allowed - $33,000. Her entire home, along with tons of others, capped at that low maximum.
Under the Obama administration there was a clear understanding that for America to succeed, we not only had to be healthy in the physical sense, but there should be a drive for being healthy in a moral sense - that we would treat others as we wished to be treated. Running in 2008, one promise made by then-candidate Obama was that we would never face a moral disaster like what happened in Katrina. In Puerto Rico, though, we are revisiting all of the lessons of Katrina, as though we have learned nothing.
I sat in a hostel on Tuesday night, watching the State of the Union with San Juan residents and others who had traveled around the world. And at around midnight, my difficulty to hear changed. It became very quiet around me, and I thought: it’s Ok. Things will be better; sleep it off, long day. We talked about the State of the Union — at least what I could readily hear, and I typed away responses to the social groups I participate in.
Waking up this morning, I found that while I slept, the pain became even more aggressive. Mia, a documentarian and one of the individuals who worked on our team the day before to clear out properties was banging on my door to wake me up… and I couldn’t hear it. I tried to speak: I couldn’t hear myself either.
I knew I was speaking, and I could “feel” it but it was behind sets of muffles. Even yelling I could barely tell. I tried listening to headphones. Nothing.
And then, standing up right, I felt such shocking pain that I was thrown back to my sitting position — had my head just split open? We went to the hospital where I right this to discover that a minor ear infection had become contaminated with likely untreated water or some other item, causing it to quickly skyrocket in seriousness. I had told my wife the night before I would visit the doctor upon arrival at home. The ER doctors informed me if I hadn’t made it in for IV antibiotics and other treatment, that ride home could have been unbelievably dangerous for me.
I was taken in for a run of IV antibiotics, IV anti-inflammatory, IV pain meds and then some injections. Prods in my ears and throat and a few other items thrown in.
Contamination, frankly, is no joke. But for people who live here in some of these dwellings, it is a risk they take with little ability like I have to rush to a doctor and seek treatment; because access to even those facilities isn’t always good.
Scarily, even after series of IVs, I’m still at a significant hearing loss and balance issues — items which we hope will return, of course.
And no doubt about it, those things really concern me.
That said, I’m also concerned about who we are as a people. I thought we would never see something like this again, definitely not within the lifetimes of those who remember Katrina so clearly.
I had thought, frankly, that maybe we had improved enough, cared for each other enough that what is happening to American Citizens in Puerto Rico would not happen again. I’ve been tweeting about my experiences here, good and bad, and was not surprised to see so many bitter private responses — from those who blamed Democratic leadership under Obama(!!), to those who believe that Puerto Rico residents are “illegal immigrants”(??), and so many who just didn’t care.
Later today, NewPioneer will post a diary asking for your help to provide some resources to the communities here in immediate need.
Pressing needs are obvious:
- Funds for generators that will supply power, especially for refrigeration
- Drinkable water available for as many as need
- clothes and basic belongings will need to be replaced.
- gas/fuel for the generators
And everything it takes to rebuild. Watching an older gentleman realize that last night would be his first good sleep in months — because suddenly, he had an AIR MATRESS — was a transforming event. He would no longer need to sleep close to the ground in his own home.
We can, and must, do better than this. We have to BE better than this. America simply cannot be great if we lack what makes us a good people to begin with — compassion and concern for our fellow man is part of it.
Once Newpioneer’s diary is up, I’d ask you if you can, chip in some resources. $80 can run a generator for a month. $100 can help adopt a family and provide them resources. Today, FEMA leaves. And the disaster remains.
Trump said the state of the Union is Strong last night -and I remind him, the strength of the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and you, sir, have taken every chance to weaken the links that have helped make us strong. It is up to us to rebuild those bonds.
Thursday, Feb 1, 2018 · 3:09:17 AM +00:00 · Chris Reeves
Update: Landed in Miami. My hearing continues to improve (hurray) though my one ear is kind of abysmal :( . The other A-OK! (though now it just keeps popping, but maybe that will die down). I also note that there are some errors with grammar/etc. in this piece. I’m not going to go back and fix it at this moment in an Airplane, but wanted to also say, look, this was written while I had an IV in my arm for painkillers, and while my notes from the day before helped, I can see now places where I have some fixin’ to do. I’ll get to that later for posterity. Please accept this small apology :)
Bobby has written up his piece here, please read and contact one of us on how to contribute. Via PMs or you can email me at creeves @ dailykos.com
Bobby’s great article with more pictures: www.dailykos.com/…