Carnage spurs outpouring of human spirit

People wishing to donate blood endure long lines throughout Pasco, while others offer themselves up as volunteers to disaster assistance agencies.

By Times staff reports

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 13, 2001

[Times photo: Douglas R. Clifford] Lorraine Mileskey, center, appears to be reflecting thoughtfully amid the crowd waiting to donate blood Wednesday at Colonial Medical Center in New Port Richey. "I think it's the right thing to do," said the New Port Richey resident who was once a New York City bank employee on Broadway in Manhattan. "I could have been one of them (victims)."

Pasco residents, struggling to help terrorism victims half a country away, continued Wednesday to overwhelm social service agencies with pints of blood and offers to help.

At blood offices throughout the county, donor lines extended out the doors. Several expected the wait to last as long as six hours.

"Oh well, there are people out there dying who need it," said Dorene Bataille, 24, while holding her 21/2-month-old son, Leo, outside the Florida Blood Services office in New Port Richey.

The response was equally heartening at the American Red Cross in New Port Richey. It typically takes the office four or five months to recruit 50 volunteers. It has received that many in the past two days.

Some volunteers came with suitcases packed, ready to head to New York. Others walked in and immediately started answering phones.

"I kept hearing the reports," said Joyce Rios Wagner, a semiretired registered nurse who faxed in her Red Cross application on Tuesday. "It was probably about 1:30 (p.m.) and I said I have to do something."

By the end of the week, many Pasco Red Cross volunteers will likely learn they are heading to Washington, D.C., and New York City, said branch manager Connie Jackson.

Before they can leave, the new volunteers will need rapid disaster training, but many are already trained in CPR and first aid, Jackson said. Many are also young. That's a change for the Red Cross, whose volunteers are mostly retirees.

"I had planned on going in there before hurricane season," 32-year-old volunteer Jeff Miller said. "(Tuesday) just kind of gave me the day off and reminded me I wanted to do it."

Even if Miller and other volunteers don't go to New York, they could be used to help local families victimized by house fires and storms, possibly as soon as this weekend. A tropical depression continued Wednesday to track toward Pasco's coast.

"Some of them said "Good, if you don't use me for this, maybe you can use me for that,' " Jackson said.

Aside from volunteers, the Red Cross also saw about a 300 percent increase in phone calls, Jackson said. Many wanted to donate blood, which the Red Cross doesn't handle in Florida, so volunteers referred donors to local blood banks.

To endure the four-hour wait for blood donation at Citrus Regional Blood Center in Zephyrhills, donors sat in chairs provided by Oakley Funeral Home. They ate pizza, barbecue and cookies and sipped on Diet Cokes, all given by local businesses.

Caroline Campbell, whose husband is a military veteran, had never given blood. She figured there was no better time to start.

"My husband isn't able to give blood anymore, so I'm here," Campbell said. "I'm not very good with needles, but I'll be okay. This needs to be done."

Dade City resident Vickie Mohr brought along her two children -- Justin, 3, and Mandi, 11/2. They ran around the small waiting room and colored with crayons while she waited to donate.

"We'll wait as long as we have to." said Mohr, who already had been there more than three hours. "It's been really upbeat. I think people feel good about being here."

In New Port Richey, Jeanette Gonzalez came to donate blood, but discovered the blood bank was short on food and drinks. She made phone calls to Sam's Club, Dunkin' Donuts, Wal-Mart and other west Pasco businesses. Not long after, she returned with a truckload of donated food and drinks for people waiting to give.

"This is just part of what you do," she said. "Helping out with your community when you can."

Liz Galgut owns M & L Coin Laundry in Zephyrhills. She said her business will donate matching profits from Sept. 22 to the Red Cross. Until then, she decided to give blood herself. She, too, didn't mind the long wait.

"I'll wait to 9 at night if I have to," Galgut said. "This is where we all pull together."

-- This report was compiled by Times staff writers Ryan Davis, Matthew Waite and Brady Dennis.

If you want to donate

Florida Blood Services centers at 7214 State Road 52 in Hudson and at Colonial Medical Center, 5622 Marine Parkway in New Port Richey will be open today from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Officials there warned that lines have been five to six hours long since Tuesday's attacks, and said donors should consider donating next week and beyond because the need will continue.

To help

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