|
|
| The Henson Family standing in the reconstruction of their home after the tornado. |
When Sentara Obici pharmacist Michael Henson’s mother-in-law called his Suffolk home on April 28th to tell the Henson family about a tornado warning, he “kind of blew it off,” he says. Not until he saw the monster storm barreling toward their house did he realize the seriousness of the weather prediction.
His wife Debra and children, Gabriela, age 10, and Michael Jr., age 7, flew upstairs to hide in a bathroom. Henson, standing watch, realized the storm was going to hit their house on the side where they were, so he yelled to them to move to a downstairs bathroom. As the storm approached the house in the Lakes Edge at Hillpoint Farms neighborhood, Henson rushed to the half-bath to join his family. Moments later, the house began lifting from its foundation, Wizard of Oz-style. When it was over terrifying seconds later, the house was still standing but twisted on the foundation.
|
Hope Fund in 2008
$220,679
Total employee contributions
$196,683
Funds awarded to benefit Sentara employees |
“The insurance company said there was no way to fix it and that it would have to come down,” Henson says. “The city condemned it.” About 20 houses were damaged or destroyed in Henson’s neighborhood by the brutal storm that damaged hundreds of Suffolk homes – but miraculously resulted in no fatalities. The Hensons lost food, clothing and furniture from the power outage and water damage.
Henson says response by the Sentara family, local agencies, and friends and neighbors was overwhelming. The Sentara employee H.O.P.E. Fund assisted with a month’s mortgage payment.
Now Henson’s new house is rising from the same spot where his old house stood. “We are so grateful that the H.O.P.E. Fund was there when we needed it. When individuals come together to help a co-worker in need, it is astounding how powerful that can be—even more powerful than the tornado that brought our family down.”
Join us. Individually we can help, but together we provide H.O.P.E.
Please call (757) 455-7976 to find out how you can give to the H.O.P.E. Fund.