Even then ambulances and emergency vehicles were forced to park in the middle of streets. Once waiting rooms were filled, families were sent to the cafeteria where the Director of Dietary Services, Joyce Parma Lalonde, led her staff in the preparation of sandwiches and coffee for the duration of the crisis. 10 Mrs. Lalonde's husband, Dr. Albert Lalonde, a respected Austin neurosurgeon and the hospital's Chief of Staff, had already reported to the emergency room. One of his first patients was Claudia Rutt. She still complained of troubled breathing. Dr. Lalonde, seeing little blood on her clothes, correctly deduced internal bleeding. Dr. Jim Calhoon, the only thoracic surgeon in Austin (the other, Dr. Maurice Hood, had just left town for a vacation) took over and tried to save her by draining the excess fluid from her chest cavity, but Rutt died shortly afterwards.11 Brackenridge had never seen anything like it. Phone lines were so jammed that periodically the operators pulled out all lines to clear the board and prevent an overload.
