Daisy's Story

One New Orleans resident suffers the ills of Katrina and vows to rebuild. Her story:

Mike,

I made it to my house on Tuesday, and I lost everything.  I had 4 feet of water in my house.  I LOST EVERYTHING.  My furniture has already fallen apart, and the mold is 5 feet high.  It was worse than heartbreaking, and I just hope I can salvage my shell.  In my favor is the fact that my house is made (mostly I think) of cypress.  I have to save my shell as I will never have enough insurance money to rebuild with 12 foot ceilings.  I had hoped to never lose my house and never have to live in a house with 8 foot ceilings.  That might sound horrible, but I love my New Orleans style home, and I JUST BASICALLY LOVED MY HOUSE.  I worked my ass off in that house for 13 years now, and now I've lost it all.

On the other hand, I am grateful that my family and friends are all alive.  I still have my 6 cats, too. I'm living in Baton Rouge, right now. My office has relocated here.  We're hoping to have the New Orleans office up and running in a few weeks, and Gary and I and the cats are moving to a relative's in Kenner. 

Every hour brings a new problem - - you solve it and wait for the next hour.  I've made it thru everything so far, so I just have to keep looking forward.  I just hope my neighborhood is not bulldozed and I'm not the only one that will want to rebuild.  I LOVE NEW ORLEANS AND I LOVE MY HOME SOOOO SOOOO MUCH.  It might be 2 years before I have it again, but I'll fight for it.

Thanks --

Daisy