On Sunday May 22, 2011 an EF5 tornado tore through my hometown of Joplin Mo. So far 140 have died and many are still missing. They say it is the most devastating tornado to hit in 50+ years.
I had just landed in North Carolina where I am currently working with a hospital to help build their Meditech computer documentation system. I was waiting at the luggage carousel when I received a call from my mother telling me there had been another tornado hit Joplin. My first thought was, “Oh another tornado, what’s new?”. That thought seems so absurd now. At that time my mother didn’t know the extent of the damage, so I asked her to call me back when she knew more.
I got my luggage, picked up my rental car, and headed to Dunn to the Simply Divine Bed and Breakfast where I would be staying that week while I worked. I got to my room and my mother called back and said the damage was very bad. We have 2 hospitals in our town and one had been damaged beyond use. Patients were being evacuated and they were needing medical personal to assist.
St. John's Hospital
I immediately got on the phone and called my boss Becky and asked if there was any way I could go back home to help. She said she didn’t see any problem with that. Moments later, I received an E-mail from my other boss Kevin, saying to book a flight and go home. They were there for me.
I called United and unfortunately the earliest available flight out was the next day at 5:00 p.m. I sat in my room that night and watched the weather channel as it was the only source I had to get official on the spot updates. I think I finally fell asleep for a couple of hours and then went ahead and went to work the next day until it was time to head to the airport. I received multiple calls that day from friends and family telling me how bad it was back home. All I could think about was getting home.
I didn’t get home until 1130 p.m. Monday night. At that point the triage centers were staffed due to the fact that St. John’s Hospital was shut down and all the nurses and doctors from there were helping out. I had many friends still trying to locate family members. 20,000 people were without electricity and cell service was almost non-existent due to the cell towers being damaged. I just kept trying to get through to people to check on them the rest of the night.
A local radio station KRZG, was devoting their whole programming time to keeping the community updated on what was going on. People could call in to report family or friends they could not find so that anyone who might know their whereabouts could call in to let them know if they were okay or not. They were broadcasting where help was needed so people could just go and help. They were also reporting where you could go for medical care, food or shelter if you had been affected by the tornado. They were there for us.
On Tuesday morning my husband and I went into Joplin to go help a friend dig through the rubble to try to salvage some belongings. We couldn’t even tell what street we were on and had to stop and ask several times where we were. There were no street signs and no landmarks to help guide us. All the buildings in this part of town were completely destroyed. I have lived in or near Joplin for almost 40 years and I could not recognize where I was.
When we finally found the house or least what was left of the house, I couldn’t even comprehend where to start. It looked like a bomb had gone off. It was just piles of snapped wooden boards with nails sticking up out of them, twisted metal, busted concrete and shredded insulation and furniture. You could smell natural gas everywhere. All we could do was just start digging.
After some time we suddenly heard the tormented howling of a cat across the street. The adult children of the family that owned the house had come back to look for their parents 5 pet cats. They were there for their parents. They had started sifting through the rubble and found one of the cats alive! We went over to check on him. He was a little banged up around his left eye and very scared, but otherwise seemed to be okay.
The lady told us they had 4 more cats they were looking for. Anyone who knows me, knows what an animal lover I am. I stopped helping dig for “things” and started digging for the other 4 cats in hopes of finding them still alive. The thought of an animal lying hurt and needing help under all that rubble was more than I could stand. We dug all afternoon and unfortunately had no luck finding the other cats. My hope is that they made it out of the house and are okay somewhere. I still can’t get the thought of them being alive, buried and hurt out of my mind and heart.
The whole time we were working, people from the community were going up and down this devastated neighborhood passing out free food and water. Pizza hut was giving out free personal pizzas. A young man who owned a sign company had made street signs and was putting them up so people could find the streets they were looking for. Other people were just going up and down the streets offering to help dig for belongings. They were there for their community.
Another storm system was threatening to hit the Joplin area that evening, so we headed for home. As we passed each affected neighborhood you could see neighbors helping neighbors. They were helping cut up trees that had fallen on houses that were still standing, putting up boards over windows that had been blown out, and offering any assistance they could. We passed a street corner where a lady was giving away food and water to anyone passing by. There were fire trucks, heavy equipment, volunteers, policeman, everywhere helping everyone. They were there for each other.
In the days that passed, I went and helped anywhere I was needed. I helped at the local mall receiving and sorting through clothes that the community had brought in and donated to those that needed it, provided first aid and care in the affected areas, volunteered at the local university, MSSU, helping to build a database of all the people who had signed up to volunteer so specific help could be found immediately in a keystroke, helped clear debris and helped friends salvage belongings, etc. It all seems small compared to those that were there to help when the tornado hit.
I am so sorry that I could not be there to help when help was most needed, but I am blessed that I was able to help in the days that followed and see all the amazing people that live in and around our community and the way they pulled together to help one another. You cannot believe the number of stories of heroism that have occurred during this tragedy. Joplin will survive thanks to all of them.
There are just a few tragic events in my life that I remember with clarity and that have forever changed me in some way. One was my father’s death, one was 9/11, and 3 others were tornados that I survived. We all ask why these events have to occur. The answer I give myself is that sometimes tragedy brings out the best in people. It helps us remember what is important and brings us together in bonds that cannot be broken. It also helps us be better prepared for the next tragedy that may befall us.
I am very fortunate to work for Santa Rosa Consulting. They didn’t even blink an eye when I asked to leave my job and go back home to help out my community. Nor did the staff at Betsy Johnson, the Hospital I was working with in Dunn, North Carolina. Thank you Santa Rosa, especially Kevin and Becky. Santa Rosa is about doing the best job you can do while having fun doing it, but most importantly they are about family. They were there for me.