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Uhl Saga Epilogue
Unfortunately, the "happy ending" suggested by the photo of the Uhls in their new home in Baton Rouge was short-lived. As might be exptected of elderly people who have been torn from familiar surroundings and cast into a new town, the Uhls never became comfortable in Baton Rouge. They lost practically every material thing that they owned, but even more devastating was the loss of their friends and familiar places. The folks from the Uhls' old neighborhood were scattered throughout Louisiana and the rest of the country, and the Uhls never reconnected with them. Mr. Uhl spent time in a psychiatric ward in Baton Rouge within six months of the storm, and the Uhls were moved into an assisted living arrangement within a year of the storm. Both suffered a rapid onset of Alzheimer's-like symptoms. Of course, this is a common malady of the aged, but it is thought that the trauma of the storm and loss was a major contributor to the rapid demise of the Uhls' mental health. Mr. Uhl died suddenly on January 6, 2008, and Mrs. Uhl died August 7, 2009 of advanced Alzheimer's disease in the Alzheimer's wing of an assisted living facility in Baton Rouge.
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