Derecho reminded us how blessed we are

By Rod Sullivan
Posted 8/26/20

2020 just keeps on giving! This time it struck in the form of a derecho, a rare but powerful wind storm.

The results are devastating: 80% of the structures in Cedar Rapids were damaged, and …

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Derecho reminded us how blessed we are

Posted

2020 just keeps on giving! This time it struck in the form of a derecho, a rare but powerful wind storm.

The results are devastating: 80% of the structures in Cedar Rapids were damaged, and one-third of Iowa’s crops are damaged.

Johnson County also suffered tremendous damage, and help is available for those who need it.

Just call 211 to get connected to any services you may need.

On a personal note, this was unlike anything I have ever experienced.

We were on vacation without Internet or cell service.

We knew that the storm hit Iowa hard, then we lost all contact.

We knew our friends and family were getting hit, but that was about it.

It made it difficult to focus on relaxing, though we did our best.

As we approached Iowa on our way home, the stories and images came flooding in. Unfortunately, those images included our own home.

We have always been blessed with several majestic trees on our property.

But after the derecho, our two-story house was almost completely obscured by fallen branches.

We couldn’t get in the driveway, and limbs hung precipitously everywhere we looked.

But, it was evident fairly quickly that we were extremely lucky.

It appears the only damage to our house is to gutters and a fence. Our cars were somehow spared.

And just before we arrived back home, our power came back.

It just simply wasn’t that bad; nothing compared to CR.

Still, we were buried. Just before midnight Friday, I put a post on Facebook asking for help. And the response floored me.

Thanks to the incredible kindness of our family, friends and our St. Andrew family, there are piles of branches 5 feet high extending 100 feet on both sides of the street, but the street, sidewalk and our driveway are all clear.

There are still a couple of tree jobs that will need to be handled by professionals, but most of the work is finished.

I tried calculating it, and I think we were the beneficiaries of almost 120 hours of volunteer help.

I am going to regret even starting to thank people, because I am going to leave people out, but please let me at least try.

Our fantastic neighbors Dan and Beth Daly were hard at work before 8 a.m.

Anthony Miller spent over five hours hard at work with his chainsaw. 

Tony’s wife, Renee Speh, and son, Alex, hauled wood for a few hours.

My brother, sister in law, and my mom came down from Cedar Rapids and worked like crazy, even though they have no power themselves.

Then, there are St. Andrew peeps – Ryan O’Leary was amazing. He showed up with an arsenal of tools and worked his tail off for several hours. His kids even raked leaves.

Doug Wildes, the DeGroot family, Scott – everyone was cutting, sawing, carrying and working like no tomorrow.

The Anderson family even helped on their anniversary.

Friends Missie Forbes, Connie Moore, Megan Alter, Mark Crooks, and others all came by and pitched in.

Wonderful neighbors Lynn and Ruth Crow loaned us the big ladder.

The derecho was a horrible thing for Iowa. It was not a good thing for us. But it did remind us how very blessed we are.