Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who offered kind words and prayers, not only for me and my family but, to the many who have been impacted by the recent devastation of Hurricane Ike. This event has struck tragedy in the lives of thousands upon thousands of people who inhabited the gulf coast region here in Texas. Although the last week has been fairly rough for most all of us down here I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that my wife and I are doing well despite dealing with constant setbacks.
As many of you had witnessed, the hurricane spanned nearly 600 miles wide and virtually destroyed everything in it’s direct path. Even with living nearly 40 miles north of Houston in The Woodlands, many of us are still feeling and dealing with the lingering effects.
Evacuations in many counties were made mandatory. While many people left and headed for safer ground others chose to “ride-out” the storm despite the warnings. A good majority of our family evacuated while my wife and I decided to stay in town. With my wife, Christina, only five weeks away from delivering our first child we felt it best to remain close to our doctor if any problems were to arise.
Knowing what we might be up against, I spent most of Friday morning preparing our home as best I could have. Once we were prepared, it was pretty much a waiting game. The storm made landfall late Friday night and we soon began to feel the change in the air. As time went by, the winds began to pick up and the sound of rain could be heard on the roof. More time passed and the wind gusts became stronger and much louder. Then went the power. I moved my wife into a small hallway away from all the windows; an area that we declared home until the next afternoon when most of the violent part of the storm had passed. Anyone who has ever been through a nasty hurricane in the dark of the night will agree that it makes for quite a miserable experience.
Thunderstorms and rain plagued us for an additional 2 days before the winds completely died out. Many people then ventured out of their homes to realize just how bad the storm really was in some areas. Galveston Island was nearly completely destroyed along with most of the surrounding areas due to the incredible storm surges. Damage occurred throughout most of the city of Houston and continued far north into Montgomery County and beyond. My area was hit hard. Although most of our power is underground, many of the above ground power lines were destroyed by the hundreds and hundreds of downed trees. Enormous hickory, oak and pines were simply up rooted or snapped in half, many of which found themselves over driveways or toppled on rooftops. Many trees even crashed into people’s homes. Flooding has been a major issue in some areas as well, reeking more havoc on the less fortunate. Although our yard was a complete mess, thankfully our house was spared.
The wide spread aftereffects has been felt by millions of people who have been without power, gas and even water. With the typical hot Texas temperatures, this has made life very difficult for many. Strangely enough though, the temperatures over the last few days have been relatively cool, giving us a little bit of much needed relief. My wife and I were without water for four days and still remain without power. We have been staying with friends and family over the last 2 days that have had their powered restored.
So again, my wife and I, along with my snake collection, are doing fine. Things could have been much worse as has been seen in some of the areas that were hardest hit. It is truly amazing just how powerful one of these storms can be. As I said before, I appreciate the support and prayers of the many friends I have on this forum and I want to thank Dave Niles for his post below in making people aware of what I was dealing with. I also thank those who have been in contact with me over the last week. And many of our fellow herpers and hobbyist that Mike Russo mentioned in the below thread that live here are doing alright as well. I know they all appreciate everyone’s kind words and support.
Kind regards,
Nathan Wells

It's good to hear you and the Wife are doing good in spite of all that has happened. I wish you a speedy recovery!

Thanks for sharing! When I lived in Puerto Rico I lived thru several category 3 hurricanes and they can be devastating.

Take care
Tom
-----
Tom Sierra

Yes,...I know exactly what you are having to go through buddy, as I have lived on the east coast of Florida almost my entire life(since age 5), and have seen, and lived in those very same conditions several times before. It can truly be miserable, especially without power, so I'm glad you and your family were able to stay with people that were kind enough to bring you in from that misery.

Keep a stiff upper lip my friend, things will gradually get better and better for you soon. Like you mentioned, when you think about the MANY folks that were WAY less fortunate in other areas than you guys were, it can make you really count your blessings. Best wishes on a speedy recovery, and getting things back to near normal again.

sincerely, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Glad to hear things are going better buddy. Hopefully power will be back soon. Sorry we haven't been able to connect this week - I'll call you this weekend.

Dave
DNS Reptiles - Updated

Good to hear from you Nathan! I am very happy to hear that your family, home, and animals are safe and well!! With the exception of one family, I have heard from just about everyone i know down there and so far everyone is safe.

I hope you get things back in order quickly!

~ Mike Russo

I went through Hurricane Isabelle myself a few years ago in Virginia. 17 days without power and had a foot of water in my home. I can understand what you're going through

Funny though, the hurricane passes, and drags the most pleasant weather right behind it LOL. Then things get normal again. My wife and I slept in our bedroom on the 2nd floor for 17 days, in near 100% humidity and 90 degree weather during the day, and not a single puff of wind at night. It made for some miserable nights. My wife's sister had natural gas, so we showered there, and her parents had a generator, so we ate there. I worked for the cable company at the time repairing lines for 60 hours a week, working Mon-Sat with only Sunday to tend to my own personal issues.
Hurricane's really make for a miserable experience for quite some time.
Glad to hear you and the animals are doing well. I hope all goes fine with the baby.
-----
Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Good to hear you are doing well. I live in Port Arthur where they predicted a 20 ft storm surge. fortunately it was more like 12 ft and we have a 15 ft levee system. My house received only minor damage and we are doing well also. I'm ready for things to get back to "normal", whatever that is. We got power back Saturday evening and got back from evac a little later Sat. Cleanup is in progress and we are thankful. Prayers to all those who had it so much worse than we did.