Tornados are bad things. Back in April one swept through Goodlettsville, Hendersonville, and Gallatin...Destroying property and taking lives.
The picture above is from my house in Gallatin. It has to be torn down...and re-built from scratch. I lost my roof...and the whole corner of my house was picked up and slammed back down. I, however, was more blessed than many people in the area.
I was not home when it happened.
Amy Hawkins WAS at her house in Hendersonville when the storm blasted through. Amy placed herself over her children to protect them. She saved her children...but was paralyzed from the waist down in the process. She and her husband Jared have lost their house and their lifestyle has had to change because of Amy's injuries.
Over 50'000 people signed a petition to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for Jared and Amy to get their house back...and It happened this past week.
The entire crew came to Hendersonville and built a new home in a week. The Hawkin's story was covered so much after the tornado that all the locals were out to cover the event...even though EM:HE is an ABC show. We had to shoot across the street, no live shots, no wireless mics - SO MANY RESTRICTIONS!
But the faces of the Hawkin's family members was worth it after the crowd yelled "MOVE THAT BUS!"
Of course many people came out to see the shows star ...TY. He didn't disappoint. The image to the right is him almost slapping my camera :-)
Sky 5...the CBS affiliates chopper made some circles around the site and some people on the EM:HE crew went ballistic! ...but that is another story for another time.
At the left is the Hawkin's new home...complete with a tornado safe room. The news crews spent all day out in the sweltering heat...and no chairs :-( ...but it was worth the time to do a GOOD story about people pitching in and helping neighbors rise from the rubble.
-Cam
