Water too much and yet not enough
Like you, I have heard some incredible stories during the past
10 days involving Hurricane Katrina and the terrible devastation
it caused. All of the stories involve water, either too much or
not enough. Like you, I have been moved by the loss and sadness
of the many families who have been separated, and the many lives
that have been lost.
As a teacher, I welcomed a new student this week who was a
resident of Louisiana. She has seven brothers and sisters, and
three cousins who were displaced because of Hurricane Katrina.
She is now living with a relative in the North Texas area, along
with her mother and her sisters. Her brothers are staying with
another relative in another area of town. Like many of the
former Louisiana residents, she doesn't want to be near water or
have anything to do with water, swimming or otherwise, for a
long time.
Another story involving water, and one closer to home: My
husband, who is a police officer, was sent on a call the other
day to check on an elderly woman whose son had not heard from
his 80-year-old mother in over 10 days. My husband drove to the
elderly woman's home and knocked on her door. No answer. When my
husband opened the door, he heard a screeching sound coming from
the bathroom. He opened the door and there was the 80-year-old
woman lying in the bathtub alive! She said she could not get out
of the tub, and subsisted off water for 10 days ... at the age
of 80!
The desperate screams for water by the New Orleans residents and
the survival of the 80-year-old woman made me stop to reflect on
our basic human needs. Starting with water, our most basic
provision that most of us take for granted. We have all
witnessed the power of water by Hurricane Katrina. Ironically,
New Orleans had plenty of water, but not enough clean water.
Thankfully, the elderly woman had clean water, which kept her
alive for 10 days.
Water safety I found a 1965 American Red Cross Life
Saving and Water Safety guidebook at an antique store a few
years ago and read it for the first time this week. I was
curious about the 40-year-old information published by the Red
Cross, the primary relief agency for Hurricane Katrina evacuees,
and its relevance to the realities of 2005. Interestingly, the
information can still be applied today, 40 years later.
The preface of the guidebook states, "Safety in and on the water
depends upon a number of things. It begins, of course, with the
ability to swim well enough to care for one's self under
ordinary conditions. It does not, however, end there. Real water
safety is also based upon such things as the ability to
recognize and avoid hazardous water conditions [such as having
the resources to evacuate prior to a predicted hurricane] and
practices. In 1963, the entire country's annual drowning loss
had actually decreased about one-third to a figure of
approximately 6,400." Reports about the Katrina victims will
likely exceed that figure in one city alone.
Why do we need water? Human beings can survive without
food for about 35 days, but without water, life would end in
three to five days. The average person's body is composed of
approximately 70 percent water, although the water content
varies considerably from person to person and even from one body
part to another. The body's water supply is responsible for and
involved in nearly every bodily process, including digestion,
absorption, circulation and excretion.
Water helps maintain normal body temperature and is essential
for carrying waste material out of the body. Blood is mostly
water, and our muscles, lungs and brain all contain a lot of
water. About 85 percent of brain tissue is water. The brain is
about one-fiftieth of the body's total weight, and it uses about
one-twentieth of the body's blood supply. Dehydration causes
energy generation in the brain to decrease.
The safety of tap water A study conducted by the Natural
Resources Defense Council found that 18,500 of the nation's
water systems (serving some 45 million Americans) violated safe
drinking water laws at some point during 1994 or 1995. The
council's report attributed contaminated water for some 900,000
illnesses a year, including 100 deaths.
Even if the levels of individual substances in water are well
within "allowable" limits, the total of all contaminants present
may still be harmful to your health. And private wells may not
be regulated at all, except at the local level.
How much water do we need? A good rule of thumb is to
take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half.
That gives you the number of ounces of water per day that you
need to drink. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should
drink at least 80 ounces of water per day.
Signs of dehydration The body's "thirst reflex" is the
last signal of excessive dehydration. By the time you become
thirsty, the damage has already been done. Symptoms of mild
dehydration include chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower
back pain, headaches and constipation.
Thirst is an obvious sign of dehydration and, in fact, you need
water long before you feel thirsty. Hunger pains are really
dehydration pleas for water. Try drinking a full glass of water
the next time you feel a hunger pain.
In the meantime, it is the hunger pains of the hurricane
evacuees that we need to feed. So let's all continue to give
what we can, and even a little more. Even if it's just a bottle
of water, because every precious drop counts.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of
the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled. -- Psalm
44:3
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who
have no money, come, buy and eat. Not only will God offer water,
the basic necessity of life, but he also offers all that brings
overwhelming satisfaction or abundance to life. Best of all, the
invitation is extended to those who have no money. The Lord
freely offers everything necessary to give His people an
abundant life. -- Isaiah 55:1
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