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Organ Recipient Misses Chance During Blackout
Aired August 18, 2003 - 14:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Across the northeast things are looking much brighter after that massive blackout in New York. It's been a crazy Monday commute, but it always is in New York.
Our Jason Carroll has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York City's transit system is back on track. Things here at New York's Penn Station looking just like an average busy Monday.
(voice-over) The trains are running on time. The subways are running on time, as well. Certainly good news for the thousands of commuters who rely on those modes of transportation every day.
New York City, as well as Detroit and Toronto, are beginning the process of trying to put a price tag on the crisis. New York City Transit officials saying that their portion of the Bill could cost $7 million.
When you add everything up it could end up costing New York several hundred million dollars. The same is true for Detroit. However, it could take several more days before officials are able to come up with an exact figure.
New York City health officials on this Monday are putting out a warning to consumers. Over the weekend they saw a spike in the number of food related illnesses at hospital emergency rooms. They theorize that people are eating spoiled food and so they're really putting a warning out there for people to make sure that they throw out all foods that just looks even remotely suspicious. Their motto, when in doubt, throw it out.
Cities affected by the blackout also at this point are looking at their emergency plans that were put into place. There was a partial breakdown of police communications here in New York City. So the city will be looking at its plan, seeing how it can improve on that next time.
In terms of improving the commuter situation here today, no way of doing that again, everything running on time as New Yorkers get back on track.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, of course, the blackout was not just an inconvenience, it put a lot of people in life-threatening situations, some still are.
Dave Bondy of our Michigan affiliate, WNEM, has one man's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE RICHARDSON, WAITING FOR A LIVER: It's devastating as hell, you know, after waiting all that time. You know, to get this and when then when you finally get it and now you don't have it.
DAVE BONDY, WNEM CORRESPONDENT: Steve Richardson was being prepped for surgery at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital when he got the devastating news.
RICHARDSON: They finally come out and said that they couldn't do the surgery. And that was the end of it and get dressed and go home.
BONDY: Doctors told Steve that the hospital generators were about to run out and there wouldn't be enough power for the six-hour surgery.
RICHARDSON: You don't know what to do. You're scared. You're scared in the first place, you know, because you're going in for this surgery that you could die during -- having it and then to come in and they tell you after you're all prepped up and waited all this time, you know, no power.
BONDY: While Richardson was driving back to Saginaw the donated liver was being shipped to a patient in California.
RICHARDSON: You know, I'm a rare blood type so it's hard to get, you know, the liver and finally they got the liver and can't do -- couldn't do nothing with it.
BONDY: After waiting two years for the liver, Richardson worried if he will ever get this life saving opportunity again.
RICHARDSON: If I don't get it, I'll die, eventually down the line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now if they're able to fly an organ to him, why couldn't they fly him to an organ and an operating room with power? That's just my question of the day.
Anyway, that was Dave Bondy of our affiliate in Saginaw, Michigan, thank you very much for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 18, 2003 - 14:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Across the northeast things are looking much brighter after that massive blackout in New York. It's been a crazy Monday commute, but it always is in New York.
Our Jason Carroll has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York City's transit system is back on track. Things here at New York's Penn Station looking just like an average busy Monday.
(voice-over) The trains are running on time. The subways are running on time, as well. Certainly good news for the thousands of commuters who rely on those modes of transportation every day.
New York City, as well as Detroit and Toronto, are beginning the process of trying to put a price tag on the crisis. New York City Transit officials saying that their portion of the Bill could cost $7 million.
When you add everything up it could end up costing New York several hundred million dollars. The same is true for Detroit. However, it could take several more days before officials are able to come up with an exact figure.
New York City health officials on this Monday are putting out a warning to consumers. Over the weekend they saw a spike in the number of food related illnesses at hospital emergency rooms. They theorize that people are eating spoiled food and so they're really putting a warning out there for people to make sure that they throw out all foods that just looks even remotely suspicious. Their motto, when in doubt, throw it out.
Cities affected by the blackout also at this point are looking at their emergency plans that were put into place. There was a partial breakdown of police communications here in New York City. So the city will be looking at its plan, seeing how it can improve on that next time.
In terms of improving the commuter situation here today, no way of doing that again, everything running on time as New Yorkers get back on track.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Well, of course, the blackout was not just an inconvenience, it put a lot of people in life-threatening situations, some still are.
Dave Bondy of our Michigan affiliate, WNEM, has one man's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE RICHARDSON, WAITING FOR A LIVER: It's devastating as hell, you know, after waiting all that time. You know, to get this and when then when you finally get it and now you don't have it.
DAVE BONDY, WNEM CORRESPONDENT: Steve Richardson was being prepped for surgery at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital when he got the devastating news.
RICHARDSON: They finally come out and said that they couldn't do the surgery. And that was the end of it and get dressed and go home.
BONDY: Doctors told Steve that the hospital generators were about to run out and there wouldn't be enough power for the six-hour surgery.
RICHARDSON: You don't know what to do. You're scared. You're scared in the first place, you know, because you're going in for this surgery that you could die during -- having it and then to come in and they tell you after you're all prepped up and waited all this time, you know, no power.
BONDY: While Richardson was driving back to Saginaw the donated liver was being shipped to a patient in California.
RICHARDSON: You know, I'm a rare blood type so it's hard to get, you know, the liver and finally they got the liver and can't do -- couldn't do nothing with it.
BONDY: After waiting two years for the liver, Richardson worried if he will ever get this life saving opportunity again.
RICHARDSON: If I don't get it, I'll die, eventually down the line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now if they're able to fly an organ to him, why couldn't they fly him to an organ and an operating room with power? That's just my question of the day.
Anyway, that was Dave Bondy of our affiliate in Saginaw, Michigan, thank you very much for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
