‘It was a life-or-death thing’: Virginia doctor returns home from hurricane relief deployment
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- About three weeks ago, Virginia doctor Randy Gordon traveled to North Carolina to provide medical support to those affected by Hurricane Helene. He recently returned home, bringing back stories of the pain Helene caused and the resilience he witnessed. "The hurricane just wreaked havoc," Gordon said. "Havoc in terms of infrastructure -- power was down, water was downed, trees were down on streets." Gordon is the former Commissioner of Health for Virginia and was also formerly the Chief Medical Officer for Richmond. He brought years of experience to this neighboring state in a time of crisis. "We had a fairly high, intense population in terms of the care that they needed," Gordon said, explaining that he and other volunteers treated victims out of a shelter, not a hospital. PREVIOUS: Virginia doctor heads to North Carolina to aid in Helene recovery efforts He said that, without power, it was difficult to care for patients who needed oxygen tanks. "It was a life-or-death thing for these individuals who really depended on these [oxygen] concentrators to survive," Gordon said. "They need power because they need oxygen 24/7." Gordon said he and other volunteers repeatedly replaced mobile tanks for these patients, and they all formed relationships with those they helped. "You have to maintain a little bit of a distance, but you do really get to know the survivors and you get ... I became attached," he said. "They were just so appreciative and somehow actually in good spirits." It's reported that at least 95 people were killed in North Carolina in Helene's aftermath. That is a sizable portion of the estimated 250 people killed across the Southeast. "On the way there, on the mountainsides, you could just see the mudlides that had covered the road," he said. “There was mud one to two feet deep on the sidewalks -- I know they actually plowed the roads to clear [the] way for traffic because of the mud.” Power has been restored, but Gordon said purified water is still in high demand. Red Cross directors said they are in desperate need of more volunteers to go on similar deployments during the holiday season. More information can be found here.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- About three weeks ago, Virginia doctor Randy Gordon traveled to North Carolina to provide medical support to those affected by Hurricane Helene. He recently returned home, bringing back stories of the pain Helene caused and the resilience he witnessed.
"The hurricane just wreaked havoc," Gordon said. "Havoc in terms of infrastructure -- power was down, water was downed, trees were down on streets."
Gordon is the former Commissioner of Health for Virginia and was also formerly the Chief Medical Officer for Richmond. He brought years of experience to this neighboring state in a time of crisis.
"We had a fairly high, intense population in terms of the care that they needed," Gordon said, explaining that he and other volunteers treated victims out of a shelter, not a hospital.
PREVIOUS: Virginia doctor heads to North Carolina to aid in Helene recovery efforts
He said that, without power, it was difficult to care for patients who needed oxygen tanks.
"It was a life-or-death thing for these individuals who really depended on these [oxygen] concentrators to survive," Gordon said. "They need power because they need oxygen 24/7."
Gordon said he and other volunteers repeatedly replaced mobile tanks for these patients, and they all formed relationships with those they helped.
"You have to maintain a little bit of a distance, but you do really get to know the survivors and you get ... I became attached," he said. "They were just so appreciative and somehow actually in good spirits."
It's reported that at least 95 people were killed in North Carolina in Helene's aftermath. That is a sizable portion of the estimated 250 people killed across the Southeast.
"On the way there, on the mountainsides, you could just see the mudlides that had covered the road," he said. “There was mud one to two feet deep on the sidewalks -- I know they actually plowed the roads to clear [the] way for traffic because of the mud.”
Power has been restored, but Gordon said purified water is still in high demand.
Red Cross directors said they are in desperate need of more volunteers to go on similar deployments during the holiday season. More information can be found here.
