These are from the daughter of a coworker of my dad who lives in New Orleans. I removed contact info – let me know if you want it.

7:45 am 9/2/05

Dear Friends and Family,

I got a call from my husband, Dr. Ross Judice of Acadian Ambulance
and Air Med Services, at 4:30 AM. He has been working at the medical
triage center at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans since noon
yesterday and is working in tandem with FEMA operations. In fact he
is in the headquarters as I write this, coordinating with the command
center. He asked that I get this message out to as many people as
possible.

The airport is now full of over 2000 sick and injured patients. Ross
says that people are dying at a rate of 8-10 an hour in there. More
people are coming in by the hour and. FEMA has as yet no plan to
evacuate these people.

Ross has already talked to his CEO, Richard Zuschlag, about the need
to get large aircraft (747’s or the like) into the airport ASAP to
fly these people out to medical centers around the country (Louisiana
hospitals are filling up). Richard is working on this. Ross asked
if I would put the word out to see if ANYONE has contacts that might
help Acadian Ambulance in this effort.
In addition, they are in immediate need of stretchers with wheels,
litters, and medical golf carts with the extended bed on the back. I
know this is difficult logistically for people far away receiving
this message, but you have any contacts that might be able to
facilitate getting these items to Louisiana today PLEASE do them.
Locally, Ross said that Richard Zuschlag is looking for volunteers to
be bused to the airport to simply help carry patients from
helicopters to into the airport over and over. You will need to come
self-contained with all your own food and water, as well as something
to sleep on (if sleep is possible).
Ross is supposed leave for a few hours today to come home and sleep,
then is returning to New Orleans to lead the medical part of an
operation planned to rescue more people from New Orleans East. He
says there are at least 3-4000 more people trapped in the floodwaters
that they are trying to rescue. Thousands more are coming out who
will be in need of medical attention. If people are not moved from
the Louis Armstrong Airport, there will be NO place to put them. The
USS Comfort is on the way to the coast of Louisiana, but if it
doesn’t arrive today many, many more people going to lose their
lives. Ross
If you have any contacts acquire the above equipment immediately,
Ross asked that you email me first and I will put you in contact with
Acadian Ambulance:
Please provide:
1) Your name and/or company
2) Exactly what you are able to provide
3) When you can deliver it to Louisiana (if you can get it to
Acadian’s headquarters in Lafayette, they can transport it the rest
of the way…obviously the airplanes need to go directly to New
Orleans 🙂
3) How we can reach you
Thank you all for your support. I know you, like me, feel helpless
as we watch this debacle unfold.
If you need to reach me by phone, my numbers are xxx or
xxx. [Ask me if you need these. -David] The phone service
is spotty in Louisiana, so the most reliable way to reach me is
by email at this time.
Robin
*****
10:29 am 9/2/05
Ross has just called me to tell me that FEMA and the US military have
coordinated and are now initiating evacuation of the New Orleans
Airport. They have commandeered commercial aircraft, as well as
military aircraft, and have an organized plan for evacuating the
entire airport of patients.
He also asked me to pass along what a wonderful job FEMA’s Search and
Rescue Teams and Wildlife and Fisheries people have been doing. They
have worked efficiently, in a coordinated way, with a great attitude,
and tirelessly to rescue the victims. They are resuming work
evacuating flooded people from New Orleans East this morning. They
told him “they would be there until the job was done”. He was very,
very impressed with these folks.
Robin