Witnessing Catastrophe

It's been quite a weekend. I went to work Friday morning with plans for only Friday evening. The rest of the weekend was entirely clear to do whatever I wished. I had considered plenty of options but was relishing in the fact that I was almost completely uncommited to anything.

And then the first disaster struck. A very good friend of mine went to the emergency room with a recurrence of appendicitis. I hadn't heard much when I left work that afternoon so I went home to work out and half way through I got a call that he was waiting to be transferred and I was needed to help get his car home. I jumped off the treadmill, got a ride to the hospital, got his car from the valet, drove it to his house, got a ride back home, changed, drove to the performing arts center and was walking in to see the ballet that night in less than an hour and a half. That has to be some kind of girl record. When I got out of the ballet, he was still waiting for surgery so I went home and passed out.

Saturday morning I woke up with plans to visit him as he was recovering in the hospital. Funnily enough, they transferred him to the very same hospital where I had my appendix removed many years ago. I was sitting at the kitchen table eating my toast when the phone rang. I never pick up the house phone so I continued eating and poking around on the internet. The answer machine picked up and then I heard my sister's voice. She was being evacuated. Her housing community was on fire and her, her husband and the kids were in a Coco's parking lot waiting to see the fate that would befall their home.

OMG!

I called her back. They were ok but definitely on edge. I kept it brief, offered them the house if they needed somewhere to go and let her get back to helping her neighbors. Then I realized that my elderly grandmother lives alone just on the other side of the freeway from her. I called my sister back but no answer. I called my grandma and thankfully she picked up. After several minutes of yelling into the phone to establish both who I was and what was happening to my sister I realized that she had no idea that less than a mile from her there were homes catching on fire. Apparently there was no threat to her neighborhood though so she let me know that my sister was welcome at her house and continued to chat a little longer. Anxious about my sister's fate, I tried to excuse myself and hung up the phone.

I sat paralyzed for a few minutes not knowing what to do. Do I go out there and help? Are the freeways even open? Do I go to the hospital? I checked the internet. The Corona fire wasn't being reported online or on TV yet. I called a good friend of mine for advice. After talking to him I decided to call my other sister. She assured me that they all were fine and that there was nothing I could do at the moment.

I got dressed and was about to leave the house for the hospital when I got a call from my aunt. She was in Corona as well. The RV park she was staying at was evacuated and she was staying in the area to help my sister or my grandma if need be. I felt considerably better at this point. Both of my parents were out of town so I did my best to keep them informed. In the process my dad learned to text message. I was so proud.

I got to the hospital and my friend was doing well. I spent the afternoon and early evening there just hanging out. I left for a short while to get some lunch and it was a little chaotic out there - smoke everywhere, the freeways packed. I decided the hospital was a much better place to spend the day.

By the end of the evening, my friend was sleepy but recovering and it looked like he would be released the following day. Several phone calls and text messages later it looked like my sister was still safe and her house still standing although they did lose a few trees in their backyard. Amazing!! A few of her neighbors lost their homes completely. It was so surreal.

So here I am on Sunday evening realizing that despite the calamity that struck all those around me, I still didn't really do anything this weekend (aside from finishing the third Harry Potter). It's so hard to hear of the strife your friends and family are facing and not be able to do anything tangible for them. But I am so grateful that they are all back home, feeling better than when they left it and that they have homes to go to. Considering the circumstances, it wasn't a bad end to a weekend.