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What would you give up for your dream job? That's right. I said "give up." When most of us think of our dream jobs, I think we think about what we would get: more security, a bigger paycheck, a chance to put more away for college or retirement, to take that incredible vacation.
Tonight on Nightly News, you will meet Persharon Dixon, a pediatrician who had those dreams too, but traded them in to take care of kids with little or no access to healthcare. In this case, the children along the Mississippi coast whose lives remain uprooted by Katrina.
Dr. Dixon gave up a comfortable life in Atlanta, a big salary and a big house -- 3,000 square feet -- and moved her husband and three kids to a trailer in the Gulfport-Biloxi area to work for the Children's Health Fund. Her office is a big blue RV that rolls from schools to churches to FEMA trailer parks to treat kids. Her patients range from infants to 24 year olds -- with the typical aches and pains of growing up. But she is seeing something else: children stressed out, afraid, and presenting mental health challenges she never imagined. A year and a half after the storm, Dr. Dixon says things are getting worse for these children, not better, and she fears they are a generation at risk.
Many are still in those cramped FEMA trailers. Some families are still living apart because jobs and housing remain difficult to find. And there is the growing realization that Katrina was not just a short term event, but one with lasting impact that's forced some kids to grow up much faster than they should because they have had to assume adult responsibilites in families that were and remain torn apart by the storm.
I know some you have written in to complain about "Katrina fatigue." You are tired of stories about the aftermath of the storm. But imagine losing your home and everything in it. Imagine still living in a two bedroom trailer with 5 people a year and a half later. Imagine finally getting money from FEMA to help rebuild your home and you give $10,000 to a contractor you never see again. Imagine that your child is now so unnerved by a rainstorm he can't sleep, wets the bed and you have to wait three months to see someone who can help him. That is real "Katrina fatigue."
Those are some of the stories producer John O'Rourke and I heard as we followed Dr. Dixon. There are signs of progress and hope along the coast. Some casinos have re-opened. A couple of Waffle Houses are back in business. And some of those gorgeous homes are being rebuilt. But head inland just a couple of blocks and on some streets it looks like the storm just blew through last week. You can clearly see the difference that money and resources make.
This story will disturb and inspire you. Dr. Dixon and her team are doing extraordinary work and I hope you'll make the time tonight to watch her story.
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FOR A POSITIVE REPORT ON KATRINA FATGUE ........ http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2007/03/the_real_katrin.html#below-fold
Posted on Mar 19, 2007 2:43:38 PM at: The Peace Journal of Sharon Cathrine Stewart Bosque
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Thank you and NBC for telling the story of the aftermath of Katrina!!!
Elizabeth, New Orleans, LA (Sent Mar 19, 2007 1:07:29 PM)
Thank you for the report. Dr. Dixon is one amongst many Americans that have selflessly given of themselves to help the American Gulf Coast. These angels stand in dark contrast to the ineptitude and faceless bureacracy of the government "help" that has been sent. I thank these angels with my whole heart. It is because of them that I can hope for better days in this country.
doctorj, Hammond, LA (Sent Mar 18, 2007 5:13:33 PM)
Thank you--thank you--thank you for last night's inspiring piece on Persharon Dixon and her work with the troubled children of Mississippi's Gulf Coast! She seems to have truly been a godsend not only to these young people who have been through so much and whose deeply wounded spirits still need healing, but to their parents who are busy dealing 24/7 with storm-related issues and have their own losses and traumas to deal with, which can make it hard to help their children. I'd say the Gulf Region can use a hundred "Persharon Dixons," except that even that amount perhaps would not be enough to deal with the scope of the psychological devastation left in children and adults in both Mississippi and Louisiana in the wake of Katrina and Rita.
Olivia (Sent Mar 18, 2007 1:57:24 PM)
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