By Ann Rubin
St. Ann, MO (KSDK) - Many families here are still trying to get back on their feet after Friday's storm, among them, Nicole Byrd, her fiancé and the six children they have between them. They rented their home in St. Ann and did not have renter's insurance.
The house has been condemned. And Friday the family has to sign papers saying they're abandoning everything inside. That means they'll have lost almost everything: their clothes, their furniture, even the crib for their newborn.
"It was a war zone. It was a war zone over here. Best way to describe it," said Josh Hall, Nicole's fiancé.
You can see where not one but two large trees smashed through their St. Ann home. Nicole tried to corral the kids under the kitchen table, hoping to cover them with a mattress.
"I reached in to grab the toddler mattress, and I reached in and the tree collapsed on top of my arm and crushed it," she said.
At that point, her fiancé made it home, herding the whole family out. And while Nicole's arm was broken in three places, none of the children were hurt.
She says, "None of the kids have one scratch on them. And that's what's amazing," Byrd said.
The house, however, didn't fare so well.
"Not so very pretty," said Katie Hall, Josh's daughter.
Most of their belongings are trashed. And the family does not have renters insurance but they were able to salvage one thing from inside the house.
"Her wedding dress. I had to climb through the bedroom and underneath the tree and stuff and into the closet to get the wedding dress," Hall said.
"That's the only thing that got saved. I'll have a wedding one way or the other," Byrd said.
Before that can happen, they're hoping to find a new rental in St. Ann and some furniture. For now, the family is staying with relatives in Wright City with 13 of them in the house. But they say the wedding is one certain thing, with so much uncertainty around them.
"We're going to do it whether it's messed up and the dress is dirty or my invitations are dirty, we're doing it," Byrd said.
The family says with so many displaced families, finding a rental hasn't been easy. But they're hopeful they can stay in the Pattonville School District. And they're hoping to have things back to normal, well before that July 16 wedding.
- Many families here are still trying to get back on their feet after Friday's storm, among them, Nicole Byrd, her fiancé and the six children they have between them. They rented their home in St. Ann and did not have renter's insurance. The house has been condemned. And Friday the family has to sign papers saying they're abandoning everything inside. That means they'll have lost almost everything: their clothes, their furniture, even the crib for their newborn. "It was a war zone. It was a war zone over here. Best way to describe it," said Josh Hall, Nicole's fiancé. You can see where not one but two large trees smashed through their St. Ann home. Nicole tried to corral the kids under the kitchen table, hoping to cover them with a mattress. "I reached in to grab the toddler mattress, and I reached in and the tree collapsed on top of my arm and crushed it," she said. At that point, her fiancé made it home, herding the whole family out. And while Nicole's arm was broken in three places, none of the children were hurt. She says, "None of the kids have one scratch on them. And that's what's amazing," Byrd said. The house, however, didn't fare so well. "Not so very pretty," said Katie Hall, Josh's daughter. Most of their belongings are trashed. And the family does not have renters insurance but they were able to salvage one thing from inside the house. "Her wedding dress. I had to climb through the bedroom and underneath the tree and stuff and into the closet to get the wedding dress," Hall said. "That's the only thing that got saved. I'll have a wedding one way or the other," Byrd said. Before that can happen, they're hoping to find a new rental in St. Ann and some furniture. For now, the family is staying with relatives in Wright City with 13 of them in the house. But they say the wedding is one certain thing, with so much uncertainty around them. "We're going to do it whether it's messed up and the dress is dirty or my invitations are dirty, we're doing it," Byrd said. The family says with so many displaced families, finding a rental hasn't been easy. But they're hopeful they can stay in the Pattonville School District. And they're hoping to have things back to normal, well before that July 16 wedding.
KSDK