One does not hear much about a hidden loss of Katrina. That loss is the damage to claim personnel nationwide. That damage is the stress and strain on both the staff who went to the Southeast and the remaining staff who had to pull double duty at home with greatly reduced personnel.
What happened after Katrina — and later Rita and Wilma — was that the number of files received was much greater than that of a typical hurricane season. Many companies went to 12-hour days for the staff, and most also went to six-day work weeks. Some companies reported that as much as 10 percent of their staffs quit because they could not take the long hours and volume of work. Some companies were hiring temporary staff who were formerly retired or from small independents just to handle the excess volume of work.
As an independent adjuster, I was on the ground in Mississippi on Sept. 2, 2005, and worked 16 hours a day through the end of January. Those who were in the affected areas know that the only restaurants available were mostly fast food, and many meals were grabbed on the run and eaten in the hotel room while completing reports. This lifestyle generally can be tolerated from time to time with little effect other than weight gain and feelings of stress. What is stress? A major form of stress is work responsibilities. It includes the demands and pressures of people, the hassles of everyday work, commuting and life in general.
For me, though, it all ended one Friday afternoon in October when I was pressed by my wife and doctor to get a heart stress test. Though I had no recognizable symptoms of heart trouble or a family history, my doctor strongly recommended the test. I was told test results were "abnormal" with the suggestion that I had heart blockage. The staff doctor indicated I would be admitted if I was in a hospital, so while I was calling my wife, the doctor called an ambulance. I was still wondering about the true definition of "abnormal" when I was loaded into the ambulance. I received a partial answer when the red lights and sirens came on.
The arrival at the emergency room seemed to calm me down. I met with the staff cardiologist, who recommended a cardiac catheterization test the next morning and admitted me to the hospital. I was told they would immediately pull a team together.
While performing this procedure, doctors can determine if any of the arteries are blocked. If blockage is minor, they can immediately repair it with a balloon procedure sent through the same tube. A more permanent procedure involves installing a stint, which is a little screen that spreads and opens the artery. You are awake throughout the procedure and talk to the doctor the entire time.
In my case, I was not a candidate for either option, so surgery was indicated. I met a surgeon that afternoon and was told that bypass surgery could not be avoided. Further, it would be done the next morning. I later learned I was very close to having a heart attack.
In the Operating Room
On Sunday, I was taken to the operating room and told what to expect by my doctor. The procedure required a heart-lung machine to be attached to me, and my heart stopped. As I entered the operating room fully awake, I looked around and saw more equipment than I could believe. I stared at the ceiling and prayed a little. I was afraid to look into the staffs' eyes and noted that they talked like people at the water cooler (the subject was the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, I kid you not). A smiling face appeared and said good night.
An instant later, I woke up in the intensive care unit (ICU). My first thought was, "Well, I'm not dead!" My next thought was how to communicate with someone, as I could not move any part of my body. I did not even have the strength to raise something so light as my eyelid. I began to wonder if I had awakened in a coma. After several long hours in the ICU, I was taken to my hospital room for the rest of my recovery. Incidentally, Einstein was proven wrong; time definitely slows down in the ICU. But after a mere four days, I was ready to go home.
Leaving the hospital means taking a lot of paperwork and half a drug store. I was told I could eat anything the first 30 days, but then I had to make changes. After all, clogged arteries are mostly the result of stress and bad diet.
I shared this experience for two reasons. One was to convey my admiration and thanks to a group of medical practitioners whom I did not know but who saved my life. The other is to warn fellow adjusters to beware, be careful, and be mindful of health risks that can occur because of pressures you face when you're trying to do your job during catastrophes.
Forty percent of heart-attack victims have no previous symptoms and do not survive. Stress and poor diet are proven to be the leading causes of heart disease. The test costs very little and just might show what mine did. I was lucky and caught my heart disease in time. If you're over 50, get the test.
James Klauke is an executive general adjuster for Crawford Technical Services. He is back on the job, eating much healthier, and getting more exercise.
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