Power outages pose challenges for residents with medical problems
The roar of a gasoline-powered generator echoed through Cumberland Street in St. Paul on Wednesday.
Fallen trees and power lines disfigure the backyards.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” explains Leslie Lucht, who recently moved out of the neighborhood. “It’s never been this bad, and the power isn’t coming back.”
After several consecutive storms from Monday to Tuesday of this week, thousands of customers were without power in the Twin Cities on Wednesday.
According to Xcel Energy, more than 250,000 people were without power.
The failure is causing problems especially for Steve Forster.
“You have to get two injections and then four tablets,” he says. “This calms the stomach and helps the body absorb the medication better.”
The 67-year-old Forster is fighting both pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.
The medicines he uses must be stored in a cool place.
But right now he has no electricity, even though his room thermostat shows 77 degrees.
“Everything has to be cooled,” explains Forster. “Two of the bottles I use to take photos belong in the freezer.”
Lucht, his former neighbor, steps in to help.
“I got him a big cooler and some ice and stuff,” he notes. “He can’t afford that in his current situation.”
Lucht also brings food and drinks and sometimes drives Forster to his doctor’s appointments.
He says his neighbor’s plight is not an isolated case.
Lucht estimates that at least a dozen people in the area use insulin, which also needs to be refrigerated.
Neighbors like Taib Ansera drop off groceries or just stop by.
“These people work and pay taxes. They should be treated well,” says Ansera. “But I think nobody cares about these people, so it’s unfair.”
A tree-cutting crew began investigating Ansera’s backyard Wednesday afternoon, but debris from the storm still lies scattered across his property and that of his neighbors.
That day, neighbors helped each other. While they wait for the power to return, there is no shortage of friendship here.
“He’s great,” smiles Forster as he looks at Lucht. “I don’t want to tell him because then he’ll get conceited, but he’s great.”
