Owen was born just as Hurricane Katrina 1the Gulf Coast. Days later, Owen became2ill. Those weeks taught me something about the3of strangers.
All disasters are personal. Some in the Gull Coast sought their families who had survived. Some sought to 4others. At the hospital, we watched our son Owen sleep. Despite the tubes dripping, he still slept his baby sleep. I5the doctor, who held the CAT scan up to the light and searched for answers. No one can know what you will feel in a time of need, but I learned that in this 6time, the people our family depended upon most were people we had never 7
We depended upon the doctors, clerks and ambulance drivers who knew their 8was to help others. We depended upon the nurses who 9our son all through the night. We depended upon the hotel that gave us a place to10near the hospital. We depended upon those strangers who made a11to helping others.
This commitment is a(n)12that holds us together in hard times. By the time we took Owen home, the worse effects of Hurricane Katrina were13.I watched the images from the Gulf Coast, images of communities, lives and families whose essential parts had been 14.
I thought of the web of strangers that had helped my family. I can only hope this web will be15enough, so that it will hold and care for many and we can all depend upon the kindness of strangers.
