My memories of Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago are different from most probably.

I was working as a RN at our emergency medical needs shelter with the state.

Bryan was camping out at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge with his dad who had a heat stroke and heart attack the day before Katrina came through.

I left all my family to help other families, I slept in a room with glass walls and tried to sleep while the hurricane was whipping through outside.

We had peanut butter and bread to eat, maybe some other snacks but not much.

We had no way to contact anyone outside in the world bc all the phone lines were down, and back then cell service was not like it is today. I had no idea if Bryan or all my people were ok.

It wasn’t until I was released to go home and drove to my sisters house that I knew that Bryan and all my family were safe. I remember getting to her house, seeing everyone, and breaking down in tears. From exhaustion, from fear, from the unknown.

Except for the part about Bryan’s dad, I repeated this story again with Hurricanes Gustav and Isaac.

I can still tell you stories from our work there, I can tell you names of people there, I can hear the noises, smell the smells… I’m not sure those memories will ever go away.

When this flood came through a few weeks ago, for the first time, I was able to stay home and be with my sister, and Bryan when he was able to come home. I didn’t have to worry about finding a place for the dogs. I was able to help in our community and do things for people I knew, while the nurses I used to work with, were deployed once again to work in shelters.

For once, I wasn’t there. And I felt a little bad for not being there for them as I had always been. But for once, I also had a huge sense of relief for not having to go with them. While I miss some of them, I don’t miss that part of being a nurse. I don’t think I ever will.

I’m so thankful and extremely grateful that I believed in myself enough to take a leap of faith earlier this year to pursue our dreams and what we love. I’m so thankful that Bryan said, jump!, and don’t look back. I’m so thankful that there are so many people who support and believe in me, every day. And I’m forever grateful for the opportunity before me to help people, just in a different way now.

I’ll always be a nurse. It’s in my veins.

But I’m so much more.

Much Love <3,
Brandy
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