It’s not like me to disappear. So where have I been?
On Friday June 29th, 2012, we were in the center of a record-breaking storm called a Derecho. Our area in West Virginia was reportedly hit the worst, with winds officially measured at 80mph. There are trees down everywhere. Even 100 foot tall trees were snapped in half, as if they were merely twigs. Afterward, we were hit with two subsequent storms, with winds in excess of 60mph which added to the damage from the first storm.
We lost our utilities and were even without cell phone service, due to the cell towers in our area being down. To give you an idea of what it was like, the radio said that there were more customers in WV without power than with power, with our county being the hardest hit. We have a normal line crew of 600 workers. They brought in over 5,000 additional line-workers, from over 23 states. Working 16 hour shifts, 7 days a week, (God Bless them all!) and over two weeks later there are still those waiting without power.
Long-term loss of power during a record-breaking heat (some days were 102 degrees, with a heat index of 115) was very bad timing for me, because MG causes me to have serious respiratory issues when I am too warm. We were as prepared as we could be. We had a generator, capable of running a small window air conditioner to partially cool one room. But it was still an unsafe situation for me, and I ended up in the hospital due to an MG crisis.
While I am improving, I am still no where near “my normal”. I lost over 12 pounds during this episode, and from what we can tell, it appears that most of the loss was due to increased muscle atrophy. The additional loss of muscle in my lower legs and upper arms is visually obvious. I am trying hard to take care of myself and hoping that I can get back to where I was before the storm.
Right now I am focusing on recovery and spending time with my kids. I am so grateful to be back home with them. They were very frightened and worried when I went into crisis and it was hard being apart from them for days. I missed them so much. I am so thankful to have my family together at home again.
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me during this time. My husband looked after me both at home and in the hospital, my Mom looked after my kids (it’s no small task taking care of 2 young kids and a toddler with autism!), my Dad has cleared numerous trees, let me use his generator, and kept us supplied with gasoline and oil for the generator (also no small task, as lines were HOURS long to buy gas), and my extended family all checked on everyone and tried to make sure we were all getting by. I am also so grateful to everyone that has worked so hard on the restoration efforts in our area. If you know a line-worker that drove to WV to help out, when they finally get back home, please give them a big huge THANK YOU from all of us here in The Mountain State.
We’ve been told to possibly expect more outages, as they continue to work on repairs. But we seem to be headed in the right direction. The broken lines that provide our internet were reconnected last night, which was my first contact with the outside world in over two weeks.
I’m sorry I left you all hanging with no word – I would have updated had it been possible. But our area seriously looks like a war zone. Please bare with me while we try to find our way back to normal. To those who have reached out to me while I was “missing”, thank you so much for your caring and your prayers. It is very much appreciated. I’ve needed the prayers and still do. Thanks again!
I hope everyone else is doing ok.
Love you all,
Deb
Ah, Deb, you’re a hero again! You have weathered (no pun intended) so much in your young life and come through grateful and ready to fight again. No wonder everyone loves you *hug*
I’m glad you’re back. Hi five to your husband, Mom and Dad and neighbors. I’m also willing to bet that the older two kids pitched in and helped with the little one. No more storms in WV, ya hear, Mr. Weatherman? Good.
We return you to your regular blogging.
My GOODNESS! Thank God you’re okay. So thankful to for all the help you had. We too, up here in Michigan have been having a record breaking heat wave. The highest so far was a week ago Friday… 108 degrees with heat index of 121. I’ve NEVER experienced that in my 41 years living here. INSANE!
Take good care of you!!
Kerri
Glad to hear that your family is safe and sound. What an ordeal you went through!
I hope that you don’t get any more severe weather! We’re going into our fourth official heat wave, and it’s only mid-July!
Stay cool as you can, and I hope you recover quickly and regain what you lost during the storm and it’s aftermath.
Sending (((((hugs))))) your way.
Deb, you are quite a trooper and it is marvelous that your family /friends all helped your immed. family, they are to be commended !! It is truly wonderful when everyone pitches in to help their fellow man so to speak. Here in KS, it has been terrible with the temps to 109 and hi humidity. My area of KS is down almost 20 inches of rain in the past 18 months and down 8 inches this year alone. I have been worried about our local water situation and have been working at using less electricity between 10 am and 6pm daily. I’ve discussed with hubby that if we wete to lose power, I would have to get to a “cooling center” as I’ve heard on tv that they have AC in order to breathe so I could function!I’ve seen on the news about your basicsally freak storms that caused your area to be without power as power co. were caught unaware in comparison to the usual predicted hurricanes and ice storms that get the power co. extra crews moving to areas before storms hit. I’m grateful that your family is back together as that helps your stress. You have a wonderful blog here and I’m honored to read it!
Cindy, I enjoyed your reply to Deb, but it was the last line that made me stop and think. Yes, it’s a wonderful blog…I’ve known that for quite some time. But the “I’m honored to read it!”…I didn’t think about that before. It was a very nice way to put it, and yes, I too am honored to read Deb’s compelling, gut-wrenching posts and share a part of her life.
I have driven through Kansas a few times in my younger years and it was so hot and humid that I couldn’t breathe. It was before common use of AC in cars, and I cooked, even with the window open. So I know what you mean about having trouble breathing in the kind of weather you are having. Glad you have an option if the power goes out. Thanks for sharing!
Oh no! So glad you are all alright and not to worse for the wear. Thoughts are with you and your fam.
Wow, What a story Deb. I am glad you are safe and also very glad you’re home with your family. I hope things are better as I write. What a great family you have. I can see why you chose the image you did to share the story of love with lighting bugs
Big Hugs to you, Michelle.
PS I have an unresolved issue with my username so I commented using my other blog just in case my earlier comments didn’t show up.