Eclipsed by tragedy

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- In many cultures, eclipses are believed to be

omens of great change. Resident Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick didn’t realize

how much the eclipse would shake up her recent visit to Turkey to view

it, but she’s thanking her lucky stars that she survived the Aug. 17

earthquake.

Every few years, Fitzpatrick makes a pilgrimage to view an eclipse

from its shadow edge, where the sun’s border appears florescent pink, she

said. This year, after viewing the eclipse on Aug. 11, the 44-year-old

traveled through Turkey for several days and ended up in Istanbul on the

night the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Izmit, about 50 miles away, she

said.

“I woke up and my hair was standing on end,” she said. The four-story

hotel building was rocking, she said.

She stood in a door frame until a member of her tour group yelled to

her that the building might collapse, and they had to get out of the old

building.

“I could just see three stories of concrete collapsing on me,” she

said. “I thought I was going to die.”

The hotel was still shaking as she climbed down the stairs and reached

the lobby, she said. Finally, the earthquake stopped, only to be followed

by four aftershocks, and she joined the crowds of startled people

standing in the street in their pajamas. It was 3:02 a.m.

“For the first time, I felt what it was like to be a refugee,” she

said. “I was tired and cold and just hoping for a chance to sleep, or for

a warm jacket.”

Once her hotel was inspected early that morning, Fitzpatrick retrieved

her shoes and belongings and hit the streets.

There were hundreds of people in a park, but it was only later that

she realized they weren’t there to enjoy the sunshine. They were setting

up tent shelters.

She spoke with many residents who had lost their homes.

“One woman’s flat had completely collapsed, and she was delirious and

worried about her parents, who were also homeless,” she said. “I wish I

had stayed and volunteered for the relief effort. I wanted to bring them

medical supplies and jackets, but I was so tired.”

Her homelessness lasted only 24 hours before she flew back to the

United States, she said, and only then did she realize the extent of the

disaster.

“My family was hysterical,” she said. “And when I realized how many

thousands of people had died, I cried.”