Dear Friends ,
I finally had the opportunity to read your kind letters. It was really
heartening to find so many good friends who are concerned for me and my
family.
We left our home in New Orleans at 6 a.m. on Sunday Aug. 28th, the day
before the hurricane was expected to arrive. We were not very well
prepared due to thinking we might stay so we left some important things
undone. Like many others, we packed for two days, expecting to return
shortly.
When it became apparent that we would not be able to return for a
prolonged time, we stayed with dear friends in NW Louisiana, then with
our wonderful niece in Austin, Texas, and then back to Louisiana to try
and get to our house for a brief visit.
We drove into New Orleans on Thursday, Sept. 8th and found that the
flooding is spotty. Entering on Hwy. 10 through the suburb Metairie it
all looked dry although, no doubt, side streets were flooded.
Ochsner Clinic Foundation was dry and running on generators. My
laboratory was in good condition and my irreplaceable cell samples safe.
Two of my fellows had come back into the city and were taking care of
things in the lab. But both had flood damage to their homes and could
not live in the city for a long time. This is the major problem in New
Orleans. Even if electricity, water and other necessities are restored
so many people have nowhere to live. My secretary's house was
completely destroyed, for example.
With the help of the National Guard and our neighbor's boats were able
to walk into our house and were so grateful to find it dry inside. The
water had apparently come close to flowing into the house but did not
rise high enough. Also, thankfully, our home had not been looted,
thanks to the soldiers' presence. However, the roof was damaged, our
Honda is destroyed, and our air-conditioning units are no doubt
destroyed since our yard and garden were under water. The saddest
sight was our beautiful century old oak tree which had sheltered us from
the hot sun all these years. It had been broken and torn by the winds
and its roots were was still submerged in that toxic flood water. It
may not survive.
We are now living with my generous hearted sister Shinja and her husband
in San Diego and hope to return to New Orleans within the next week or
so. We are grateful for all our family's loving support. We plan to
rent an apartment in the unflooded parts of the city while we repair our
house.
We appreciate our good fortune but can't forget the poorest of the poor
of New Orleans who are still suffering, many of them very homesick and
missing or being separated from family members as in a war. We cannot
complain without feeling ashamed when thinking of them.
Thank you all for your concern. It meant so very much to hear from you.
Yong Sung
Yong Sung Choi, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
Laboratory of Cellular Immunology
Phone (504) 842-3035
FAX (504) 842-3381
Email ychoi@ochsner.org
>>> <skpark@buffalo.edu> 09/07/05 10:35 AM >>>
Dear Yong Sung and Ilze:
How are you and where are you? Are you well? Was your place also
flooded?
I called you earlier but your telephone did not work. Also my e-mail
(to ilze's address)retuned undelivered.
How are you coping with that disaster? That's so unspeakable.Please
let me know how you are. Is there anything I can do? Where are you
staying? Would you like to come to Buffalo and stay with us for a
while?
As you might know, we had a Colorado reunion from 8/22 to 8/28/05.
There were 50 of us(25 couples). Changgi Hong is now back to the
States and lives in San Francisco area. I talked with hwiyol about a
week ago and obviously he din't have any information about you either.
Anyway, please be safe and healthy.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Seung kyoon