My Survivor

My Survivor
The story of my daughter's tornado experience told threw my eyes

 It was a very normal Sunday.  I was playing my on-line game and hoping the thunderstorm would politely go around us.  As it neared I was finally forced to shut down the computer system and go downstairs to listen to the weather band radio.  We had a TV in the lowest room with radar, which we monitored from time to time.  Dad and I kept walking out on the front porch and at one point joked about the hail.  I remember sending my friend Jeff in Chicago a text telling him I was sending him some killer storms.  That was right before my world changed.
 News came in that St.Johns hospital was hit by a tornado.  This was my wake up call.  The storm had produced a tornado and now there was proof that it had hit Joplin.  I ran upstairs to google the hit.  Sure enough there was a lonely blog with a crude picture of St. Johns and the debris from the disaster.  I called my ex-wife (Melody) to make sure she and my daughter (Autumn) were OK.  No answer.  I texted, "are you guys OK?  please let me know".   I waited.   At 6:19PM I wrote "news says St. Johns Hospital on 26th was leveled by a tornado", as my Facebook status. I waited some more, while I paced and listened to the radio broadcasting weather.  I sent her another text and waited.

 15th street Wal-Mart was hit by the tornado.  Wholly shit!  That’s not far from Melody’s house.  Way too close.  I sent Amy (Melody’s best friend) a text to see if she knew where the girls were.  After waiting about ten minutes for a reply I decided to text Amy’s mom, Penny.  I had no clue what was going on other than the fact that Joplin was hit by a tornado, or tornadoes, and that my daughter might be somewhere in it. This was the beginning of the longest night I’ve ever spent. I could no longer stay at the house and wait.  I went looking for them.  I went unprepared.  I was wearing ripped jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt. I was in for a tough time and had no clue how tough it was going to get.  I drove.  I drove fast.

The First Glimmer of Hope

 By the time I had drove a mile I got a text from Penny.  "We are alright but the house is gone", it said.  I thought to myself, "what the hell?"   I texted back something about being on my way.  I needed to start the search from Melody’s house, which I did, and they were not there.  I was hoping they had already moved into the new house, closer to the middle of town.  I called my dad’s land line and had him look up her new address for me.  I wouldn’t be able to make another person to person phone call for hours.  I drove to the new house and sure enough they were not there.  This was the point where I had my first realization that they might be in real trouble.  I drove down St. Louis Street and saw the first signs of the storm at the Park Apartments.  Not much damage, just a lot of shingles and limbs on the ground.  By the time I got to Murphy I realized that I was on the edge of a war zone.  A massive oak tree was blocking half of the 4 lane road, a very old church on the northwestern corner of 15th and St. Louis was all but caving in on itself.  This was no normal church.  This was an old stone almost gothic medieval style tall church.  That was the last time I saw it.  It fell in on itself sometime after.   There were no traffic lights, people were driving in the middle and wrong sides of the roads.  It was chaotic.  I turned east to go towards Texas Street, and those few blocks took me at least 45 minutes.  When I got to Texas I turned south and really saw the destruction.  The houses that stood had cars thrown into them, and the roofs were gone.  I couldn’t believe people lived through this disaster.  It was like a Hollywood set, it didn’t look real.  The traffic got so bad that I ended up parking my truck, grabbing my gloves and ran the final 4 blocks. 

About 17th & Texas

22nd Street

22nd St. Facing towards Wal-Mart.  Photo by Greg Paul.

 I got to Amy’s house and made sure all was well.  Her, her mom and dad and 2 dogs all were safe.  They had huddled together in the hallway of the house.  Their house was completely destroyed.  Their car was hammered.  The garage door had fallen onto the rear of it, and with the help of neighbors they were able to get it free.  They had already loaded it up with what few possessions they could.  I offered to go inside to salvage stuff but everything was wet, smashed or gone.  This is when I got my good news and my bad news.  The good news was that Karya Dawn, my oldest daughter was alive and well, she was at the Joplin HS graduation and was safe.  The bad news was that Melody had called just before the tornado and told Amy she was coming over.  That’s how I knew they were on 20th street.  That was the news that gave me my first real melt down.  At that point I just kept telling myself that they couldn’t get there because of debris in the way.  I had to think of every possible good outcome, because deep inside I knew they weren’t OK.  I didn’t know what to do.  This kind of shit doesn’t happen to me.  I wish they would call.  I needed them to call.

Reality Sets In 

 About that time a group of about 5 or 6 guys came walking by with hand tools asking if everyone was OK and if we needed help.  Amy told them they were OK.  As they walked away I asked what they were doing.  "We are looking for anyone that needs help".  I asked if they needed help and ended up tagging along. This gave me a sense of purpose and helped keep my mind off the girls.  We walked to the end of 22nd, then back east towards Rangeline Rd.  There were gas lines broken everywhere and the trees had no bark.  The sound of gas lines leaking combined with the smell of bark less trees made for a wild walk. Pizza by Stout was removed from the face of the earth, as well as the little store next to it.  Power lines were down everywhere.  Traffic was still crazy.  Jim Bob’s Steak House had a water pipe spewing water like a fountain out of the roof.  When we got to Walgreens,  the whole front of the building was gone.  The lady who was working there told us how she had got everyone into the cooler.  I was beside myself.  This was so much bigger than I could grasp.  A block away was home depot.  There was a command center set up so we walked there.  The only thing we could do as civilians was to go to Wal-Mart and collect bedding and first aid kits.  Home Depot had set up a triage and they were pulling bloody people out and the emergency personnel were buzzing around like bees.  This was the first blood I saw and it hit me pretty hard.  The only thing I could do was try not to see it.  That proved to be incredibly hard, if not impossible.

Walgreens, 20th & Rangeline

22nd & Rangeline

Academy Sports. Photo by G.Paul.

Inside Wal-Mart. Photo by G.Paul.

 We piled into a couple of pickup trucks and drove to Wal-Mart.  When we got there I saw a familiar face.  My old friend Greg Paul was there picking up his son Cam.  Cam had been working when the store was hit.  Wal-Mart had sustained massive damage.  The whole roof system had collapsed, and both the front and rear walls had fallen.  I think Greg knew I was freaking out because he kept telling me everything would be OK.  I continued into Wal-Mart.  To get in, I climbed a pile of rubble that was the front wall, and down the other side.  Once I was inside, I saw firemen using axes and shovels digging for survivors and dead.  I collected the blankets and got out.  We ended up making 2 trips before it got dark and the police said no more.  By dusk I decided to walk back to Amy’s to see if the girls had checked in.
 When I was a block from Amy’s I saw a second familiar face.  My other good friend Clancy was walking down Texas.  When she saw me we both started crying and hugged.  I was really glad to see her.  I knew she lived a few blocks away and it made me happy to see her alive.  When I got to Amy’s I was told the girls were still missing.  I told them I was going to start looking up 20th and told them good bye.  As I walked to my truck I saw my daughter’s friend sitting on the porch of what used to be her house.  I asked her parents if all was well and they assured me it was.  They needed no help so I moved on.  Next I went to check on my other friends, Russ and Beth.  They weren’t home but I was told they were OK and had left earlier.  Their house was pretty messed up. From there I decided to try to get across Rangeline and search up 20th street.  I knew Melody would have drove from Kenser Rd to Texas on 20th.  Unfortunately 20th St was blocked off and only emergency crews were allowed, other than on foot.  The night was getting chilly, there was constant lightning and there were massive thunder clouds overhead as well as in the distance.  I decided I needed to go home and get better prepared for the big search.

The Longest Walk 

 On my way home I decided to drive by Melody’s house again, but it was futile.  I drove home, asked my mom and dad to keep trying to call the emergency triage centers and the hospital.  At 10:08PM I updated my Facebook status, "if anyone sees my daughter & her mom let me know, they are missing".  I changed into my carpenter pants, a better t-shirt, grabbed my heavy duty rain jacket, my flash light and my camping pocket knife.  At 10:19PM I again updated my status as "going back out to search. I really hope they weren’t on 20th like we think".  On the way out my dad gave me some extra batteries, and I was off.  This time I started where I knew they would have started.  I drove down 7th St. and turned onto Kenser, just like Melody would.  At the intersection of 20th and Kenser a policeman had a barricade up and wasn’t letting any autos threw.  I asked him where I could park because I intended to walk in.  He asked me how far I intended on walking, and I told him all the way to home depot.  At learning this he told it wasn’t a good idea, it was too far.  I then told him that I had run out of options and my daughter and her mom might be trapped in the car somewhere off the road.  He told me where to park and said good luck. I was off.  It was very dark, very eerie and in almost every direction emergency lights could be seen flashing at some distance.   I walked from one side to the other of the road shining my light everywhere it would reach.  This turned out to be quite the trek.  I did a lot of soul searching and talking with myself in between episodes of crying.  I honestly did not know what I would do without my daughter. A few blocks down the road I came upon a small church that was being used as a triage center.  I checked with them and they hadn’t seen or heard of the girls, so I walked on.  Sometime soon to the west of that little church the scene started becoming a little more grim.  I started noticing more houses blown apart.  Cars started appearing in odd locations.  Another couple of blocks and the houses didn’t look like houses, they looked like the remnants of a post atomic bombing.  More broken gas lines could be heard, animals started to show up, as if they knew to come to the road for help.  Sometime before i got to Duquesne I saw two small goats tied to a utility pole and a man sitting in a lawn chair with them.  In the background was what I took for the house he lived in, it was destroyed.  From time to time search vehicles would pull up to me and ask if I wanted a ride.  I then had to tell the story of a lost Honda Passport with two girls in it.  The closer I got to home depot the harder it was to ask if anyone had seen the car. 
 When I reached Duquesne Road the only way I knew it was the roundabout.  It actually took me by surprise.  They had a small command center set up with a bunch of big fire trucks.  I asked a couple of men if they had seen the Honda or the girls and was directed to the man in charge.  I had to wait for him to get off the satellite phone to ask about the car.  I could tell he was busy and felt bad for taking up his time, but I needed some kind of hint, clue or direction, as I was quickly running out of road to search.   He had no information for me.  I walked on.  As I passed the intersection, and the flashing lights were behind me I saw the convenient store on the corner.  I literally stopped in my tracks and my jaw fell open.  It was hit hard.  It had cars sitting all over it, chaotically.   This was the beginning of the most surreal part of my journey.  The few blocks from Duquesne to Rangeline was a complete nightmare. How in the hell can nature summon this kind of power?  As I walked on, searching, I had a hard time figuring out where I was.  I‘ve lived here for a long time, but when every land mark you know is destroyed and the street signs are missing you can get lost easy.  I remember looking in awe at a mountain of building debris and wondering what it could have been.  When I started spotting Volkswagen's all over and mixed in the debris I realized it was Sharpe’s VW shop.  It was totaled.  Across the road was another building destroyed with a bluish car smashed inside of the wreckage, as I looked closer I found it wasn’t the car I was searching for.  Again I walked.  Sometime around one AM I made it too home depot.   The triage center was gone and the only thing left was the damaged building, cars smashed all over it and a few people guarding the loot.  They told me the triage had been moved to Lowe’s, right down the road.  What else did I have to do but walk?

convenient store at 20th & Duquesne.  Photo by G.Paul.

The Second Glimmer of Hope 

 When I walked away from home depot, threw the storm ravaged vehicles in the parking lot all I could do was cry.  I knew I was running out of options.  My only hope was if the triage at Lowe’s had the girls names listed from earlier.  I remember leaving a message on melody’s phone, telling her that "if she was alive she needed to fucking call me because I was going crazy not knowing where they were or if they were alive".  I remember being very emotional and scared that I might not see either of them again.  I remember having to walk over downed power lines and poles to get to Rangeline.  After I collected myself I called Amy.  As I explained my grim results I again started to get emotional, not being able to hold myself together.  I also had Karya Dawn working her contacts in the back ground.  The three of us were all but struck out.  It was about 1:30 in the morning when I reached the middle of Lowe’s parking lot.  I was within 100 feet of the triage when my phone alerted me to a new text message.  It came from a strange number and read, "They are OK, at freeman ER".  I text messaged the number back, "are you talking about melody and autumn"?   No reply.  I called Amy and then Karya.  I instructed Karya Dawn to get to Freeman Hospital and make sure they are there while I find a way back to my truck.  I called Amy back and tried to work out a system to get me to my truck, but there was no good way.  By this time RangelineKarya came running and hugged me with everything she had.  Naturally we were both crying.  As we walked in she briefed me on the girls’ condition.  She told me they were alive but looked really bad.  She told me autumn had something wrong with her leg and it was bad.  I went to the lady who controls the people going in to the triage area and told her I needed to get in.  She informed me that no one else was allowed inside.  I told her my oldest daughter had come out so I could go in, but that made no difference to her.  I then explained that I had walked about 10 miles looking for my daughter and that no one was going to keep me from seeing her at this point.  Still it made no difference to her.  Karya Dawn caught my eye as she nodded to the door going back to triage and I read her body language.  I turned and asked the lady one last time if that was her final decision, to which she replied, "yes, I’m sorry".  So I promptly turned and walked right in.  My heart was racing and I had already told myself it was going to take two security guards to keep me out.  Walking briskly towards room 39 I could feel my heart beating overtime.  When I found triage room 39 there was a big double door open with a curtain hanging in such a way that you couldn’t see in.  I held my breath and went in.

Triage Room 39

 

Autumn in triage room 39

 When I walked in I instantly saw Autumn, near the wall.  To get to her I needed to walk around a lady.  As I walked by the woman I realized it was melody.  They were both very beat up.  When I say beat up, I mean it.  Melody was laying on her back with a sheet over most over her body.  She had a neck stabilizer on so she was forced to look straight up.  Her left shoulder was swollen and almost purple in color.  She was lying in a soggy blanket of her own blood.  Her hair was matted with mud, dirt, grass and twigs.  I remember talking to her and trying to be calm, but in reality I think I was the one trying to be calm.  I remember looking over at Autumn and seeing her leg.  One quick look and I quickly looked at melody and started crying.  At first glance it looked like a cannon had hit her leg and took a chunk out.  The leg had been cut at a severe angle and there was a very large "flap" hanging wide open.  The whole wound was jet black, like it was burnt.  I grabbed melody’s hand and told I needed to go see Autumn.  When I got to Autumn I could hardly contain myself.  She was really beat up.  She had two black eyes, the whites of both eyes had a lot of red in them and she had matted hair like her mom.  Along with the bad cut on her lower right leg, she had a pretty severe slice on her upper leg near panty line.  All about the floor were drops and small pools of blood, used latex gloves taken off and thrown towards the trash, but not in.  It was a scene directly taken from a episode of MASH.  It turned my stomach.  Autumn was laying on the table looking at her mom, who was facing the ceiling but her eyes were pointed as close to us as she could.  I found out later that Melody couldn’t see Autumn.  When the nurse came in I told her that the guards may be coming for me because of the way I came in, and she assured me that no one was going to take me from the girls.  After taking about 5 minutes of this scenery in I started feeling like I was either going to vomit or pass out.  My mouth started to water and I got very light headed.  The nurse made me take a chair which helped me out greatly.  Autumn was doing pretty good, she was in denial and wouldn’t look at her leg.  I learned later that she never did look at her leg wound.  We contribute that for helping her cope with the situation.  It would be almost 2 more weeks before I would see her scream in pain.  Pretty amazing considering what her body was going through.  I kept going back and forth from Melody to Autumn, trying to do what I could to ease them.  Autumn was starting to fall asleep; she had me hold the oxygen mask close to her face until she drifted away.  While she slept I took a picture or two of her face.  I then showed melody the pictures.  I asked Melody if she knew what her shoulder looked like, which she didn’t.  With my phone I took a picture of the shoulder and held it in such a way as she could see it.  She then told me she had a cut on her ankle.  I took a picture of that and let her see it as well.  The cut on her ankle effectively cut her flamingo tattoo in half.  Forever tying her to the joke about her decapitated flamingo.  Melody was laying on the gurney with her bloody bra cut and hanging off one side, and her shirt was bloody and wadded up under her also.  With her help, we were able to get both pieces of clothing out from under her and into the trash.  I also would give Melody a cap full of water when the nurses were out of the room.  This really seemed to make her feel better.  

Melody's left shoulder.

Melody's right ankle.

 There were others in the room.  One was an older man who had no ID.  He ended up getting shipped to another city hospital.  Then a young lady came in.  She had been pinned down by a metal truss in Wal-Mart.  We all talked for awhile, until they came in to work on autumn’s leg.  The doctor stuck a needle into her big wound to numb it up.  She gripped my hand and cried, but didn’t scream.  All I could do was look her in the eyes and cry, telling her all would be OK.  At one point the nurse told us that they were considering shipping Autumn to either Springfield or Fayetteville, but luckily that plan never happened.  Sometime later it was Autumns turn to go to ER.  They wanted to get the wound cleaned up and sewn back together.  Before we left I told Melody that I would keep her informed of what was going on.  Autumn and I were taken to the pre-op room.  This is where we met Heather.  She took very good care of us.  I don’t know how long we were there, but it was the first time I had seen a padded chair since sitting in my truck.  I kept dozing off for a few minutes at a time.  At some point the crew came to take here away and I was shown were to wait.   All the waiting rooms were full.  You have to remember that the hospital was beyond maximum capacity, and Freeman's was doing the job of 2 hospitals.  Later I found out that a lot of the staff were volunteers from St John’s.  So, with the waiting rooms full I took my place on the hallway floor.  I contemplated laying on the floor and taking a nap, but couldn’t get my pride to go along with it.  Instead I went back to see melody.  I told her what was going on.  At some point I asked the nurse if it would be OK to let mike, Melody’s boyfriend come in to stay with her, as well as Amy.  Melody really needed someone to be by her side.  I know I am better than no one, but her boyfriend and best friend are much better.   The nurse was cool with the idea so they came in and kept stayed her side.  Up til now Mike had been an enigma.  Autumn talked about him, so I knew a bit about him.  I was very relieved when he showed no animosity towards me.  In fact he was very grateful and very polite towards me. I found myself feeling like I shouldn’t stay much with mike there, not wanting to crowd them.  I would wander back and forth from the triage to the ER hallway waiting area.   At one point I walked in on the nurses irrigating Melody’s wound.  Melody had sustained a deep puncture wound under her bicep.  She had removed the piece of wood herself but it had left some sizable fragments behind.  (Later a specialist compared the wound to a gunshot blast with wood debris left behind).  When I walked in they had her hand tied to the overhead IV pole and were using what looked like a super soaker to shoot a stream of water into the hole.  It was disgusting, so I said I’d come back.  When I did come back I found the doctor with his pinkie finger shoved inside her wound hole.  It was all the way in and he was using his other hand to try to entice the debris towards the pinkie.  One minute of that and I turned white and had to excuse myself.

Autumns First Operation (Monday May 23, Mid Morning)

Since I couldn’t handle seeing Melody while they worked on her wound, I decided to get some rest.  I found an open chair next to a few other men and sat down.  Soon we were talking and the man told me his story.  He had been at home depot with his wife and grand kids.  His wife and granddaughter were in the parking lot waiting in his 1 ton dually truck.  When the tornado hit, he was able to get under a work bench and survive with good health.  His truck was picked up and thrown violently into the building.  His granddaughter had gotten very hurt.  A piece of rebar had pierced her in the shoulder.  This broke some of her ribs.  This story in itself was crazy, but to be honest it didn’t hit me until I read about it in the Joplin Globe a few days later.  That poor girl.  When the doctor came to get them I never saw them again.  After they were gone I found myself without company so I walked back to triage to check on Mike, Melody and Amy.  Melody was laying there in pain with not much to say.  The nurse had untied her arm, but left the gauze like a bracelet around Melody’s wrist.  I removed it and threw it away.  It was all I could do.  This was sometime around 6am.  At this point fatigue was setting in. I was tired and hadn’t eaten since breakfast Sunday morning.  I would walk in and Mike would be all but asleep at her side, holding her hand.  Finally Autumn was out of surgery and I was permitted to sit with her in recovery.  This room held about 10 patients.  5 aside, with small curtain in between.  When Autumn came too she was in the typical post surgical fog.  As she woke up she got thirstier, and I held her cup so she could drink.  I remember a lady across from her to the right.  That lady had massive cuts on her face.  It had looked like maybe she went through a window.  It was horrible.  I asked Autumn if she could see the lady.  She could.  I then asked if she wanted me to pull the curtains so she wouldn’t see her, but she said no.  Sitting by her side was my duty.  I would do anything I could to help her, but the chair I was in was a stool and I kept nodding off and almost falling off it.  I struggled to stay awake while in recovery.  There were two nurses that tired to sponge Autumn’s body clean, but they were short on time.  Autumn had dirt in her nose, in her ears and everywhere else you can imagine.  She was completely filthy.  Towards the end of our recovery room journey the lights flickered and went from dim to bright.  I hadn’t noticed how dim the lights were until this.  When they stayed bright the nurses cheered and gave a stand ovation.  Evidently the whole time we were on backup power via the generator.  That was a very cool moment.  Soon after we were transported back to post op (same area as pre-op) and heather took care of us again.  She made sure I had the mini lazy boy and set us up fat.  It was Heather that asked me when the last time I had eaten was.  She fixed me a ham and cheese and got me a drink.  I don’t think I will ever forget her.   She was also the lady responsible for making sure Melody was allowed in to say good bye when she was released.  While autumn was in the recovery, Melody had gotten stitched up and was ready to leave.  At around 9 or 10 am Mike, Melody, Karya and Paul (Karya Dawns boyfriend) all came in to say good bye.  When they left I fell asleep for a short time.  We were just waiting for a room to opened up for Autumn in pediatrics.  Sometime before we got in our room I called a co-worker named Rob.  He had been working on finding his daughter and helping with his grandmother destroyed home.  I remember trying to talk, but my words not coming out right.  I was sleep deprived.  I was turning into a zombie.  Later rob told me I sounded drunk.  After Melody and her crew left, Heather informed us they had a room ready.  Room 130.  Most of our story happened in room 130.

The Rocky Desert Room (Monday May 23)

 Room 130 in the pediatric ward was the rocky desert room.  Each room had a painted theme, complete with animals labeled native to the scene.  When we got settled in I ran out to my truck and got my phone charger.  I had been bombarded by friends and relatives looking for more information.  By this time I had to turn the phone off to save what little battery I had left.   Once I got back inside the room, I wouldn’t see the outside world again for almost a week.  We both slept a lot that first day.  The storm had taken the TV antennas and there was no cable, so we watched a lot of DVDs.   When Autumn needed to use the restroom I carried her to and from.  This was not easy, since she was hooked to an IV.  We got pretty good at working as a team.   The nurses bent over backwards to make me feel at home.  The first few days were hard on both of us.  We were not used to lying around and definitely not used to room service.  Autumn wasn’t able to keep her food down.  No matter how small amount of food she ate she would vomit back up.  Worse than that, her vomit had small chunks of blood in it.  because of this she was scheduled for tests on Tuesday.

Autumn not ready to smile.

Flamingo Balloon

After the first surgery.

Her legs took a beating.

When Tuesday the 24th came, Autumn went in for a series of x-rays, an ultrasound and a cat scan.  They thought maybe she had head injuries.  Luckily those tests all came back negative.  Later in the day the doctor came and looked at autumn’s throat.  In the very back of her throat she had a series of cuts.  They hypothesized that she accidentally swallowed broken glass or sharp debris in the storm.  Her vomiting would continue for a few more days.  Slowly she regained her ability to eat and hold it down.  On Wednesday she went in for her second surgery.  The wound on her lower leg was turning black around the edges, and it was producing a very foul smell.  This was bad news because it meant that the flap of skin would now be removed and there would be a depression in that spot instead of just scarring.  So at around 8am she rolled into the OR to have her wound opened, the flap cut off and the whole area re-cleaned.  While they were working on her they squeezed around the gash in her upper leg, unfortunately puss came out, so they opened it up and cleaned it as well.  The doctors chose to leave both areas open to heal from the inside.  The first time I saw it without the flap of skin my heart sank.  I knew it would never look normal again, and there wasn’t a god damned thing I could do about it.  At this point the wound was all the way down to her muscle.  The doctors and nurses had to change the dressings 3 times a day, which hurt Autumn.  They used the wet pack method, where wet gauze was packed into the wound with dry gauze wrapped around it to hold it in.  The gash on her upper leg was the bad one, because it was so close to her panty line, they had to use tape, which made for a more painful removal.  One good thing came out of that day.  That day marked the first time she got to see her mom.  Melody was finally in good enough shape to visit.  This really helped Autumns spirit.  Along with Melody, Karya Dawn and both of their boyfriends Mike and Paul stopped by.   Paul gave me some clean clothes to wear, which was awesome.  I had been wearing the same clothes since Sunday.

After 2nd Surgery.

After 2nd Surgery

Without the flap of skin

the wound looked horrific.

The Details (May 25th)

While melody visited she informed me of what happened that day in the tornado.  They had been driving to Amy’s house to take cover from the storm.  When they got next to Home Depot the sky turned black and the car was thrown a couple of blocks.  The car rolled 4 times, Autumn was sucked from her seatbelt and out of the car.  Autumn told us how she remembers both of the rear door glasses being broken by debris before she was ejected.  The car rolled again after Autumn was out, leaving Melody to fear that she was crushed by the car.  When the car came to a stop it was on what was left of the Pepsi building.  Melody crawled from the wreckage to find that she had been pieced by a long piece of wood.  She ended up pulling it out herself, leaving a gaping hole under her bicep.  Melody yelled for autumn and saw her standing a little ways away from the car.  Melody was able to get to her and they started walking towards Rangeline.  Melody said that she couldn’t tell which was west until she saw the water tower, and she was able to gain her bearing.  Sometime before they hit 20th a man named Jimmie-Joe came across them.  He tore his shirt made a tourniquet for Autumns leg.  He then carried her to the first response car, and made sure they kept the two girls together.   When I found out about this Jimmie-Joe I knew it was my mission to find him and thank him.  This man made a huge impact in the welfare of both girls.  He helped save my daughter’s life.  I felt I owed him a debt of gratitude.  After hearing the story I was beside myself.  What a miracle they survived.  Mike showed me pictures of the car from his phone.  They are lucky to be alive.

Melody's Honda, Photo by M.Keeling

Top view . Photo by M.Keeling

In the photo in the upper left side, you can see Home Depot in the distance (orange stripe).  They were next to that building before the tornado hit them.  This picture is the best example of how far they were thrown.

Front view. Photo by M.Keeling

Several days later. Photo by J.Painter

When the time came for the gang to leave, Autumn asked if I would wheel chair her down to walk her mom out.  This was a great sign, as she hadn’t wanted to get out of bed since being emitted.  We walked her up to the main exit and stopped by the big fountain and got a picture of them together.

Melody, Autumn & Karya Dawn

Melody & Autumn

 Thursday the 26th brought the first visit from the physical therapist.  He showed her how to use crutches.  She picked it up pretty and got really good with them.  Unfortunately she still wanted me to carry her to the bathroom, which I did.  Friday the 27th was the lesson on how to navigate up and down stairs with crutches.  She didn’t like this at all but suffered through it.  She had to learn this because we have steps at our house and she had to be able to traverse them safely, (Which she did).

First Crutch lesson

Crutch up stairs lesson

Later that night my network of friends found Jimmie-Joes contact information and I called him.  I thanked him and told him I wanted to meet him.  He then told me that a reporter had heard his story on the radio (he had told the radio about helping the girls as well as what he had saw at Home Depot).  The reporter had told him if he found Autumn that he would like to do a story.  I gave permission and we set up a meet time for 4 pm.  I then called Melody so she could be there also.  The reporter worked for Reuters and his name was Elliot Blackburn.  He listened to all of our stories and published a very good piece.  it was an emotional time.

Jimmie-Joe & Autumn

Jim & Autumn Achey

Elliot Blackburn's news story 




My First Trip Out (Sat. May 28) 

My sister Paula and her family came up to visit, and I took advantage of it.  Her husband Ron took me home to get a hot bath and some fresh clothes.  We drove down Main Street going home and I could hardly believe it.  The destruction was crazy.  The smell of dirt, mold and freshly broken tree was thick.  At about 15th Street my stomach balled up and I had a hard time with it.  On the way back we went down 20th to Main and I was done.  It made me physically ill.  This was too much for me to process.  We went back to the hospital.  The next day was the one week mark and to celebrate Autumn went for her 3rd surgery.  This time it was just to do a general cleaning.  The doctor liked the way the wounds looked and just wanted to clean up some of the granulated material from the wound.  It was a quick ordeal.  The surgery proved to be a success and soon we were back to bugging the nurses again.  Later that day her story went viral.  Elliot emailed me a link and before we knew it, Autumn was the poster child for the Joplin tornado.

Car around a pole. Photo by K.Loar.

Irving School. Photo by G.Paul.

 Later, I got a call from Erik Thayer, a photographic journalist.  He had been asked by Elliot Blackburn to take some photos of Autumn following our interview.  I gave him permission and he showed up at the same time as my sister Paula.  He was a very nice guy and 6 of his pictures hit the web. 

Photo by Erik Thayer

Photo by Erik Thayer

Photo by Erik Thayer

Photo by Erik Thayer

On Saturday the 30th, Melody and Amy came by to watch Autumn, so I could run home and take a shower.  This was a planned event, because the doctors had given Autumn the go ahead to take a shower also.  I carried Autumn to the bench in the shower and then left her in Amy's care.  Again I drove down Main Street, and again it almost made me sick.  The one cool thing about the destruction was the sheer amount of goodwill floating around.  There was free BBQ'd food and water on about every other block.  On the way back to the hospital I decided I needed to see St. Johns in person.  When I got there it was more than I was ready for.  It was nuked.  The workers had been fork lifting the mangled cars into a row next to the road.  There was a rented chain link fence surrounding the property.  When i got to Cunningham Park I turned around and pulled in at the old Pronto store.  Where the store had stood was now a white tent, being used to serve food by some christian organization.  I walked in and ate a hot dog and a small bag of chips.  Everyone left me to my thoughts, and I stared out towards the north.  As I walked out I thanked everyone and headed to my truck.  I realized I still had a bunch of split oak firewood in the bed.  I had been given this firewood for the camping trip Autumn and I had planned for Memorial weekend.  Since I didn’t need it, I gave it to the cook.  He was very happy to have the wood.  I then went back to the hospital.  The shower had helped clean Autumn up nicely.  Some of her scabs had fallen off and she was starting to look a bit more normal. That night I was able to access the Internet for the first time as Melody loaned me her laptop.  This was a nice change since I had a lot of people to keep updated.  It also gave me the ability to upload pictures easier.

Showered with gifts

Appetite is better

J-Bear gives comfort

The puzzle Amy gave her

On Tuesday the 31st Jimmie-Joe stopped by and hung out for awhile.  He has a way of making Autumn smile, and is a really nice guy.  A friend of mine that lives out of state posted a blog about Autumn in her blog named "Joy365".  She did a great job and many of my friends on Facebook shared the link. The biggest thing that happened that day was our decision about the skin graft.  We had to choose one of two options.  Option one was a simple graft, the donor skin would come from the hip and would be applied to the muscle.  This surgery would take about an hour and would leave the depression area, as it wouldn’t be cosmetic at all.  Option two was a little more risky.  They would take a piece of skin, with an artery from her back.  This would be a more cosmetic surgery.  It would take about 4-6 hours and there was a chance it would not take.  Before I was ready to make a decision, I called the surgeon and talked with him for about 10 minutes.  When the time came, Melody, Autumn and I all thought the simple graft was the better choice.
The skin graft was scheduled for Thursday the 2nd of June.  On the day before we ordered a day of no visitors.  She had been getting so many visitors that it was wearing her out. The full day of rest helped and she napped more than normal.  When the surgery came we again were helped out by Heather.  She took good care of us.  By now Autumn was a pro at getting prepped for surgery.  She had had IV's in four different spots and taking the meds threw her hand veins was giving her a lot of pain.  The surgery was a complete success.

Autumn ready for surgery #3.

Panty line gash, just before the 3rd surgery.

Debrah Farentino & Autumn

Autumn before surgery #4

While she was resting the day after the surgery, we got a huge surprise.  Debrah Farentino, the actress that plays Beverly Barlowe in the Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka stopped by to say hello.  She was accompanied by an EMT from LA named Mike Detoy.  they were both very nice.  We had a great chat with both of them.  They had a fight back to California on Friday the 3rd, but found time to stop back by and say hello.  I really enjoyed talking to both of them, as well did Paula and Ron.  For being famous she sure seemed down to earth.
Monday June 6th was an especially hard day.  This was the day that we were finally gonna see what the skin graft was looking like.  The area had been covered since Thursday and Autumn had been on bed rest, keeping her leg on two pillows almost constantly.  Melody's mom had come to town towing her first trailer of relief supplies from Big Spring, Texas and she got to witness Autumn in her most painful event of her stay.  The plastic surgeon unrolled the bandage and then went to work on the gauze.  It was matted with dried blood but had to come off.  He tried to go slow but it was a lot on Autumn, I held her hand and tried to makes thing better.  Once we got threw it, the doctor said it looked excellent.  It was a relief.  It was what we all wanted to hear.  We collectively knew that meant the end was in sight.  Next came the removal of the skin donor area.  This time he started slow and Autumn started screaming in pain.  After seeing what my little girl had went threw without much crying, I knew this hurt like hell.  Finally the doctor ripped it off quickly and Autumn all but jumped straight up.  She was screaming, and keeping her eyes locked with mine.  It was enough to drive her grandmother out of the room.  It was a lot to take.  Once it was off the worst was over.  He liked the way it all looked.

Donor skin site & upper gash.

Skin graft stapled in lower leg

Later that day I found that Jamy had made a nice update blog about Autumn.  That was really well timed, since my nerves were shot.  Later in the day Scotty Rae Hettinger came by to interview Melody, Jimmie-Joe, Autumn and myself for a book he is writing about the tornado.  He is trying to get 300 first hand stories about survivors, rescuers and first responders.  He is donating the profits back to Joplin to help rebuild.  We talked to him for a couple of hours.  I later caught him on the news talking about the book and he mentioned Autumn briefly without using her name.

Scotty Rae Hettinger with Autumn

After The Hospital 

Dressed to leave the hospital

On June 7th, 16 days after we we emitted, we got to go home.  It was an amazing day.  This was the beginning of the rest of her life.  This wasn't over, but it was a new start.  2 nights later Melody pulled splinters from Autumns fingers and legs.  2 weeks later I pulled a piece of glass out of her stomach.  On the 13th of June she was cleared to walk.  No more wheel chair, and crutches.  It took her awhile to abandon the crutches, as she had yet to put faith in her legs and feet.

At home

At home

Eyes turning white again

relaxing on the porch

On the 15th she went in for her 5th surgery.  this was a simple surgery.  They put her to sleep and pulled the staples from her lower leg, removed the stitches from her upper leg, and removed a sizable chunk of windshield glass from her arm.  They put the cube of glass in a specimen bottle and let her keep it.  We joke about it being the last piece of their car.

Out patient surgery

Before surgery #5

Glass cube souvenir

Glass removed

the 19th was fathers day, and autumn gave me the best gift she ever could.  after eating breakfast we played a round of miniature golf (she won by 1 stroke).  i would have never guessed that she would be where she was health-wise a few weeks earlier.   i have to say that i am the luckiest dad in Joplin.  i am going to end my story here, because to me its fitting that father day be the end of this chapter.  my girl has rebounded.  watching her play like a regular 9 year old girl brings me to tears.  when i try to let her know how happy i am that the bad thing didn't happen she tells me she knows and not to cry.  lol.  

Fathers Day 2011

I'd like to thank everyone that was involved in the charity, prayers, thoughts, good vibes and donations.  You all made a differance and it will come back your way.  thank you.

Random Pictures 

Joplin High School. Photo by Amy Fallow.

Crafted diary

Book of Polar Bears

Having a buried stitch removed

At mini-golf

The lower leg wound 

Skin graft looking great!

After the first real shower, dead skin removed

Staples removed, looks awesome!

Healing at an incredible rate

Other Wounds 

Scar on bicep from glass, scar under arm from a cut

Skin donor site, upper leg gash stitches

 It's been a long road.  For me personally I feel as though I've aged a year.

In just over a month my daughter has made an amazing recovery.

Her spirit is great and she has a lot of people pulling for her.

My sister helped me get threw it by standing by my side every chance she could.

Thank you Paula, I love you.

We had a set back, but we continue down the path of life