When Barbara Green and her husband dug their way out of the rubble that was their home before the March 2 tornado ripped through West Liberty, Kentucky, they found their horse lying on the kitchen floor. The couple rode out the storm in the hallway of their home and survived without injury. “We got up and dug our way out. I found the tornado had carried our horse through the roof and into our kitchen. It was laying on its side but was okay,” she said.
Green brought her two granddaughters, Audrey Cole, 3, and Shelby Cole, 6, with her to Morgan Central Elementary School where the Red Cross had set up a Service Center to provide resources for tornado survivors. The girls and their parents also lost their home to the storm. Green said the horse and the rest of the family’s animals except for one dog that was killed were okay and being tended by West Liberty veterinarian Dave Fugit. They included a cat with a broken leg and a cat with a broken jaw, but otherwise, the injuries were not too severe.
“Our animals were trapped,” said Shelby, who noted that the family has a donkey, chickens and ducks as well. “It was sad and scary.” Her little sister described what the storm did to their house, saying, “It flew everywhere.”
Both children were greeted at the Center by Volunteer Mental Health Professionals Bruce Funk of York County, Pennsylvania, and Alex Weinstein of Charlotte, N.C. Funk spent some time talking to them and presented them with small Mickey Mouse toys to cheer them up. Weinstein then chatted with the older child and used art to help her work through her fears. Green received assistance to help the family get back on the road to recovery, and the little girls left the Center smiling.
