Tornado Alley

As a young father in the mid-80s I learned first-hand of the speed and impact of "Tornado Alli". My daughter Allison was in the prime of her "terrible twos" and she could remarkably within moments rearrange her cutely appointed room and all other rooms in the house, for that matter. These were memorable times that would occasionally test our endurance, but nothing we experienced could ever compare to what Helen DeSpain went through the afternoon of Sunday, May 4th.

That Sunday afternoon we happen to go to Charlie Hoopers in Brookside for a burger. Hoopers is a neighborhood joint that Alli and I would occasionally visit on a weekend afternoon for the hot dog special and a round of pinball. This particular afternoon the weather began to dominate the news reports and I grew anxious to learn more. You see, I've been a siren chaser all my life and, when an emergency arises, I tend to shift my attention to the extreme.

Michelle and I quickly left Hoopers with cell phones in hand to warn relatives and associates--few knew much about the terrible storms at the time. We went by our office to field a change of clothes and gathered some supplies. Soon we mobilized to help wherever we could. The challenge with Sunday's tornados, however, is that they were located throughout the region. With associates and relatives living in western Wyandotte County, Parkville, Liberty, Belton and Warrensburg, you could imagine our dilemma.

We began the journey at Osco in North Kansas City where we purchased an SUV-full of emergency supplies. We ventured to Wyandotte County where the cellular towers were apparently disabled and unfortunately we couldn't reach our associate Rob McClain. Rob and his family live just east/northeast of The Woodlands near Wyandotte County Lake--dangerously close to the area described of having the F-4 and series of tornados. We had to park a few miles from the McClain home, then began our hike with armloads of supplies. The closer we got, the more devastating things appeared. From Leavenworth Road and for the mile going north on 87th substantially every home was either totally destroyed or damaged severely. We arrived at what appeared an impasse in the road where a house had been thrown by the tornado. Little did we know then of what occurred at the site an hour preceding.

Helen DeSpain and her 6 month-old daughter Esperanza were taking a nap on the sofa in the living room of their home. When Helen awoke, she was dazed and amidst the rubble and driving rain more than 100' from where her house once stood. She desperately began the search for her child. Within minutes she and her neighbor Jerry Groves found Esperanza, whose name by the way in Spanish means "Hope". Remarkably, Esperanza was alive, but she was deeply buried in the debris. Jerry could not move the stereo speakers that had trapped the infant, but they eventually drug her out from under the debris. The child apparently stopped breathing and there was no other help available. Remarkably, Groves was able to resuscitate Esperanza, and he saved her life.

The McClain's home was another quarter mile north on this sparsely populated road. Their lives remarkably and their home was spared that day by the grace of God. Very few of their neighbors, like Helen and Dan DeSpain, were as fortunate. Having seen first hand of the devastation to human life and property caused by these horrific storms is an experience we'll never forget. We have, however, had the pleasure to know and help good people deeply in need of support. Catastrophes such as the recent tornados differentiate what's really important in life versus the pettiness that tends to surround us. This experience has hit very close to home for so many people in our community--many will never recover from the devastation they've encountered. Please consider contributing in whatever way you can to help the victims who have been devastated and traumatized from the recent storms.

Who knows, perhaps someday Esperanza DeSpain might be the good soul that will be there to save your life or the life of a loved one. One can only Hope.

Editor-In-Chief & Publisher
jsweeney@ingramsonline.com