Mrs. Sylvia Sykes [MS] lived in a nice neighborhood in New Orleans with her husband and their three children. All were grown and out of the house when the storm hit. They had a nice life, and Mr. and Mrs. Sykes gave their children plenty of exposure to good experiences. They were very active in the city’s social events, the balls and Mardi Gras and other cultural events.

MS was not in New Orleans when the hurricane hit, but in other parts of the state. She was sixty miles from Baton Rouge, where her husband was trying to collect her to come to Houston. She told him to leave and they remained apart for the first ten days of the Hurricane Katrina unfolding.

While she and her husband would both love to return to New Orleans to live, it’s not possible because her health prevents that. They are planning to keep their home and other New Orleans properties to renovate and rent or lease them out. Mr. Sykes travels back and forth working to get the things taken care of in New Orleans. And since they’ve settled into the idea of remaining here in Houston, they are building a home for them to live in. They will remain in the apartment until it’s finished.