Is There ANYTHING We Can Do to Help You - post earthquake

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Valued New Zealand Colleagues,

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you recover from the earthquake. I am partularly interested in helping nurses who may have been personally impacted by this disaster. Those of us in hurricane country know how long and difficult it can be to recover - and the bills don't stop. Is there a web site set up for donations?

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

the nz red cross is taking donations, their website is:

[color=#0e774a]www.redcross.org.nz

you could probably contact your own red cross where you are and make a donation through them. the salvation army are also taking donations.

i will post more info as it appears, 75 people confirmed dead to date. god help all of them and their families.

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

17 people in the ICU so far. 300 missing. Hospitals coping well, Triage centres going OK.

Australia sending specialist teams of doctors, nurses, rescue teams, many other countries have offered help and assistance.

Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

Two nurse friends of mine live in Christchurch. They are twins! One was over here in Oz on a holiday when the quake struck. The other was in CC. She is a surgical nurse but has been seconded part time to brighton beach where a group of aged care patients have been located in a hotel. She is living with them because while she still has her house she has no power, water or food.

She has to take her ID everywhere to get through streets that are blocked by the army to go to the hospital where she is working the rest of the time.

Her twin is desperately trying to get back to her. I spoke to her and Sally asked her to bring cash as no ATM or EFPOST is working. She is also bringing baby wipes, deodorant and dry shampoo.

God bless her and all the work that so many people from so many countries are doing in the search and rescue. The Queensland and Victorian SES, fire and ambos that have only recovered from the cyclone and floods are over there. Just as the Kiwis were here when we needed them.

These two countries have suffered enough in the last two years between fires, floods and mining disasters. It has got to stop.

Specializes in mental health + aged care.

We have evacuees at my work in Rangiora (half an hour from chch, practically no damage) but were down on rns before the quake. We're starting 12 hour shifts as we can no longer get the bureau nurses we had booked in.

Parts of Chch are really bad, other parts look like nothing happened. We live close to the boundary line between the two. was really excited to get water and internet back on today, and a new toilet (still waiting for sewerage so can't try it out yet) and a portaloo only half a block away :) . It's amazing what one becomes grateful for at times like this...

Port a loo, I heard are very precious there at the moment.

Yes little things you take for granted all of a sudden become precious things. When we had the fires over here, there was a small break from the sadness, all round, when some who had lost their homes and were together at a refuge realised the value of a clean pair of nickers.

Thanks for your post...and letting us know..

Specializes in mental health + aged care.

Had to call my boss at the end of my shift this morning as I was getting to the point of being unsafe to practice. She said she'd sort it out and I burst into tears when I got off the phone. She then rang back and told me she was coming to give me a lift home and her husband would take my car.

All the response from those supporting chch is just overwhelming, I keep crying with everything I hear and read.

A friend told me I was a hero for keeping going, but I'm not. I just had to do what had to be done. Am feeling like I've let people down by not being able to keep going. At least there was a nurse from public that has offered her services and north island staff, including rns, are down now so it's not quite so bad

A wise lecturer in our mental health course said...and it has stuck by me since then....

you can only do your best at any given time, not yesterday, or the day before, not tomorrow, or next week, but right now and then when you were at work...I think you have done your best at all times...even at this very minute .you are being too hard on yourself.....remember the adrenaline kicks in at first, looks after everything for the first few days, then the post traumatic stuff starts....no-one absolutely no one could do better than you are doing at this time.....gee, I cry everytime I see more news, had nothing extriodnary happen and I am ...hours away and you are just feeling it now? :)

Even the big guys (firemen and police) are tired and showing their emotions, this is absolutely, necessary for you to recover and be stronger like before again.

Thinking of you and glad your employer is taking care of you :hug:

Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.
Had to call my boss at the end of my shift this morning as I was getting to the point of being unsafe to practice. She said she'd sort it out and I burst into tears when I got off the phone. She then rang back and told me she was coming to give me a lift home and her husband would take my car.

All the response from those supporting chch is just overwhelming, I keep crying with everything I hear and read.

A friend told me I was a hero for keeping going, but I'm not. I just had to do what had to be done. Am feeling like I've let people down by not being able to keep going. At least there was a nurse from public that has offered her services and north island staff, including rns, are down now so it's not quite so bad

Sairin if you didn't show your emotions, I would be very concerned about you as a mental health nurse. You are not God, and you are not infallible although nurses and doctors like to think they are. You had great insight and realised your limitations - and that is a very wise thing. Your body and mind was telling you you needed a break, and you let all that pent up emotion out.

How are you all going now? Hope you are all coping better and getting the help through that you need.

Specializes in mental health + aged care.

Doing better. We got our bureaus back and our clinical leader is being really naughty and coming back 2 weeks post-op rather than 6. I'm getting enough sleep now which seems to make more of a difference than anything else. Got the next few days off, going to Wellington for study.

Most people are doing generally ok as far as I can see, of course there are going to be good days and bad days for us all. Good to stop and talk with the neighbours a lot more too (finding out just how many homes our cat visits too, lol). Appreciate all the good thoughts from all :)

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