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John Hollenhorst ReportingA family of refugees from New Orleans has moved in with relatives in Summit County. Their situation is not as desperate as many, but their story shows how Hurricane Katrina disrupted every facet of life.
Kamas Valley is literally a refuge for Doug and Tiffany Maready. They fled New Orleans with just two suitcases and two-year old Tyler. Another baby is due in two weeks, but their medical insurance is valid only in Louisiana.
Doug: "There's two doctors already that have offered to deliver her baby for free."
Tiffany: "Being so close to delivery, that was such a huge conern for me."
Their first floor apartment is probably under water. Doug's last year of medical school is under a cloud. Tulane University is flooded ten feet deep.
Doug: "It's going to be a big chore to get those records together again."
Here in the Kamas valley it may seem hard to imagine, but in New Orleans they always knew a disaster like this was possible. In fact, just during their years at medical school, it's the fourth time the Maready family has evacuated.
Dough: "Our policy is, whenever the city calls for an evacuation, we go."
Now they're second-guessing themselves. Why didn't they take it more seriously and take their most cherished possessions?
Tiffany: "Because a lot of our things, pictures, just (sobs) sentimental things that we didn't (sob), journals."
Doug: "That we were too complacent to take with us."
Dry and safe with relatives, they're plenty worried about an uncertain future. Today was the day Tulane University was supposed to launch the application process for Doug Maready's medical internship. He doesn't know if there's a surviving backup of his records.
