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'They All Want To Be a Family Again'

Mark McCarthy (Photo courtesy Louisiana Academy of Sleep Medicine)

A big issue for him has been how to keep his sodden patient files confidential amid the destruction, his wife said.

Romaine said she hopes that as time heals the city, she will be able to bring her children back. Though Danielle and Amanda are making new friends in their new school, “They all want to go back,” she said. “They all want to be a family again.”

Meanwhile, the children’s computer, like their father's, is equipped with a Web camera so they can see each other as they talk.

But it’s not the same as being together. Danielle worries that her father has “lost some weight because he's been working,” trying to clean up items from their home. She said she misses his chicken gumbo.

Mark McCarthy said that as much as he misses his kids, he's glad they're not in harm's way.

"We're all just doing the best we can," he said.

Through this ordeal, Romaine McCarthy said she is grateful to have such an extensive network of family and friends to call on for help.

“If I had stayed and ended up in shelters, I don't know that I'd be the same person,” she said.

“I have some friends. I have some excellent friends.”

Banner graphic by April Chan, incorporating photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Newsline Web content edited by Chris Harvey.  

Copyright © 2005 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism