My Red Cross Journey
By: John A. Novotny
10-11-2017
I have been asked from time to time why I volunteer or
donate my time, energy and talents to the Red Cross, as well as medical mission
trips. For a long time, I really didn’t have the right answer “off the cuff”,
and usually struggled through some response.
Of late, I have revisited that response and have something a bit more
solid.
First, I have been a very blessed (and lucky) person on many
levels. I have a wonderful wife, family and extended family, supportive
friends, and good health in general. Lucky, because of the over 6 billion
people on the planet, an extremely small percentage (including me) were born in
the USA, and enjoy all the benefits that go with that, despite the political
rhetoric we are surrounded by. Secondly, I feel some sense of void on occasion
that I never did serve my country in the military. Since I can’t change that, I
can join organizations like the Red Cross and engage in medical mission trips
as some alternative forms of service. Third, the Red Cross is neutral on every
front that I can think of, such as politics, religion, gender, etc. They take
all comers and serve all comers. Kinda neat I think. Fourth, it’s just the
right thing to do.
My Red Cross
beginnings…….My first contact with the Red Cross as I recall was during
my first job after college in 1977 at the Geneva State Bank, Geneva, NE. Every time the Red Cross Bloodmobile came to
town, it was just assumed that those from the bank that could, would just
donate blood. My first time, I was
somewhat of a reluctant 21 year old, who wasn’t so tough anymore when someone
was going to stick me with the “big” needle.
Well, I made it through that, and over the course of the next 35 years
or so, I gave enough blood to be in the “10-gallon” club. Since about 2011-2012
or so, I have not been able to give blood anymore, even though I want to, and
they want my blood. The reason, is that
since Nila and I generally go on international medical mission trips that are
in malaria “risk” areas, the Red Cross won’t take my blood for at least a year
after I am in one of those areas, and we seem to be going somewhere every year.
So, the Red Cross and I are at a stalemate on this specific item.
My second contact……..with
Red Cross came in Columbus, NE shortly after 911, when some (unknown-to-me) volunteer
asked if I would join their local DAT (Disaster Action Team). I “believe” it
was someone from the hospital, but I honestly can’t remember who. That started
a series of training and classes to be qualified to serve the Red Cross on a
local level, such as responding to house fires, floods, tornadoes, etc. My
training allowed me the opportunity to help with a 2006 flood in Schuyler, NE
and a severe 2008 hail storm in
Hastings, NE and Kenesaw, NE. I also helped with the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina in 2006 with my daughter Giana, in Bayou La Batre, LA. I realized that
my passion would be more toward national and international humanitarian efforts
after that trip. However, due to job time demands, I was unable to make myself
available to the Red Cross on short notice for 2-3 weeks per assignment, until
now….
My current
contact…….with Red Cross is concurrent with the sale of our medical
practice to the Columbus Community Hospital. My position as Business Manager
has been now ended after 30 years, which allows me time to volunteer with Red
Cross for the 2-3 week assignments. So in September of this year, I took the
time to refresh my classes needed to be a volunteer, and am once again
qualified to serve the Red Cross is areas of Mass Care (feeding, sheltering,
distribution, and ERV). ERV stands for Emergency Response Vehicle, and the
drivers of those vehicles are in some ways like the “Green Beret” of the Red
Cross, as they are very broad trained, and that all important work “Flexible”.
During the end of September, I was scheduled to be deployed
to the Virgin Islands for the aftermath of Maria. However, I needed to delay my
deployment by one week since I had a prior commitment in Las Vegas to attend a
national community college national conference. This, since I am on the board
of governors of the Central Community College, based out of Grand Island, NE
but with a campus in Columbus, NE. When
I returned from the conference on 10-1-2017 (about 4 hours before the shooting
started), I learned that I was then on stand-by as my original position has
been filled and I was to wait for the next one to open up. In the meantime, an
urgent plea was sent out by Red Cross to prepare for the then developing Hurricane
Nate. So I was deployed on 10-6-2017 to
Orlando, FL to help prepare for the worst. By then Nate has killed many people
in Nicaragua and other Central America countries. It was thought at the time
that Nate would become another Katrina and so “all on board” for this one. As it turned out, Nate did not develop into
what was projected (actually good news overall), but then the logistics problem
for the Red Cross was what to do with all the personnel deployed for the
contingency.
In my case, being an ERV driver, they gave me some choices.
1), Stay in Florida or go to Houston and help with the efforts there, or, drive
an ERV back to one of its home ports, mine being from San Bernardino, CA. (The
Virgin Island and Puerto Rico assignments at that time had currently been
suspended as the logistics of getting food and help to the correct people in
the appropriate ways, was being limited by electrical outages, airport
closings, ships standing idle in the bays, etc.) The intent was for me to take
the ERV back to its home base, and perhaps get redeployed in Califorina to help
with the wild fires there. So I took the option to drive an ERV back to
California. ERV’s are staffed with two drivers, and my partner happens to be
from Holstein, IA, a retired Tyson Foods manger, and Jack-of-all trades,
including being Santa, (and looking like one too. LOL).
Our trek started in Orlando, FL, and will take us to San
Bernardino, CA, over 2,200 miles. Our goal on Monday when we found this out,
was to leave on Tuesday, and arrive sometime on Friday. We are currently in Las
Cruses, NM as I write this, a little over ½ way. I didn’t realize at the time,
that I would be going through so much scenery and college football country. Of course, Orlando is the vacation Mecca of
the Southeast. Following is the list of
towns we went through (or will), and just a short quip about some of them:
Orlando, FL – Vacation Mecca
Gainesville, FL – home of U of Florida college football
Tallahassee, FL – home of Florida State college football
Pensacola, FL – home of the Navy’s “Blue Angles” Airforce
Mobile, AL – Old French seaport, Alabama’s only salt water
port
Montgomery, AL – Home to the Civil Rights movement, MKL
influence, etc. Rosa Parks, Capital of AL
Birmingham, AL – Old Industrial capital of the South
Tuscaloosa, AL – home of the U of Alabama football team
Jackson, MS –State capital
Monroe, LA – home to U of Louisiana football
Dallas, TX – home to the Dallas Cowboys football
Fort Worth, TX – home of TCU football
Midland, TX – home to the Bush’s
El Paso, TX -- home to UTEP football, and you can see Mexico
from there, Rio Grande River, no wall J
Tucson, AZ – home to Arizona football
Phoenix, AZ – retirement capital of the country
LA area – home to UCLA and USC football
One thing I noticed from Florida, through Alabama,
Mississippi and Louisiana,………..if I get injured, I don’t have to worry about
anything. There are a plethora of attorneys (per their preponderance of
roadside advertising) that will tell me exactly how much I hurt, and how much
that is worth. And they will take care of everything. What a deal that is. Strangely,
once we hit the Texas boarder and for the 800 mile trip across to New Mexico, I
didn’t see more than 2 signs advertising that warm fuzzing attorney comfort hug
if I got hurt. Apparently, the Texas attorney’s don’t care about me. Sad.
LOL. Then immediately when we entered
New Mexico, again there were plenty of attorneys willing to help me again.
Thank God for that. J
The one sign that Texas does have a plethora of, is “Don’t mess with Texas”. I
guess if I do, I’ll just call up an attorney form one of those “other” states.
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When we get to San Bernardino, CA on Friday, we will get our
new assignment then. Stay tuned…………………….
* John has reached California by the time of this posting. N
