Story by: Ashley Humphrey
Lowers:
00:25-00:37 – Neal Donnelly, EMS Lieutenant
1:22-1:33 – Andrew Boone, Paramedic
TRT: 2:01
Script:
NAT: “It’s hard to describe the atmosphere… post apocalyptic is a good word for it.”
On September 27, EMS Lieutenant Neal Donnelly went into work at 7:30 AM at the McDowell EMS Headquarters and didn’t stop working for 48 hours.
NAT POP: on radio– “6132 from EMS Ops”
After that, he worked the 12-hour night shift for 10 days.
“It wasn’t necessarily the staying awake part, just the exhaustion, the mental marathon that it was. Because you’re also–you’re not only, you know–juggling all this, but this big storm just hit your home. And, you know, fortunately, my home and my wife and child were all safe. But you still have, you know, your home county being severely impacted.”
Donnelly spent 8 hours on a mudslide rescue mission on the day the hurricane hit. After that, as second in command on his shift, he primarily worked at the headquarters: helping attend to the influx of 911 calls and stationing additional help from out-of-town
“I play a very small part, and I just keep saying I. I’ve got to do my one 1000. I’m not playing a bigger part than anybody else.”
In the town of Old Fort, some places were almost unrecognizable. Paramedic Andrew Boone completed a 10-hour overnight rescue mission the night after the hurricane hit. He shared the mindset that has helped him persevere.
“The will to live. I have a will to live and all of these people have a will to live and that’s what sparked it for me. As long as someone wants to live and wants to try, I’ll do everything I can to help them up.”
Donnelly’s work schedule is back to normal, but the county he works in isn’t. He said sustained support will be needed during the rebuilding process.
“A couple months down the road, it’s like, well, where did all that support go? It’s like, you forget, but the people that are affected are still living with that, the people in this community are gonna be living with this for years.”
I’m Ashley Humphrey, reporting.
