The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 03:03 PM
Friday Storms Leave A Talbott Family Homeless
"My manager comes and says, 'Amy you have a phone call, it's an emergency," said Amy Parker, who had a tree fall through her home. "My first response, I'm thinking is my son, so I'm terrified at that point."
Amy Parker's son, Elijah, is almost 2 years old. He has a rare syndrome called Walker-Warburg. It's a generic disorder that affects nearly every part of his body.
"We're blind in one eye, hearing impaired, we have only one good kidney and we have seizures, and swallowing difficulties," said Amy.
The call wasn't about her son.
"I answer the phone and he says, 'Amy there's a tree in our bedroom',"said Amy. "I said 'oh my goodness no, really?'"
Overnight storms caused a tree to fall on Amy and her husband's mobile home, inches away from their bed.
"It was terrifying," Amy's husband Joshua Parker said.
Amy was at work while her husband, Joshua, was sleeping. The destruction woke him up at 6 a.m.
"I had to crawl through here to get to the door," Joshua said. "I didn't know if i'd be able to crawl out."
"I was in panic, just to know that I could get home and actually see them, and make sure they were okay," said Amy. "Then my thoughts were 'what am I going to do?'"
Amy never thought she'd come home to a tree in her bedroom, unable to get around to her belongings. The Parkers are still in shock.
"It's very overwhelming," said Amy.
The Parker family said they were already planning their next move to better suit their son's needs.
"We actually needed a bigger home, more rooms for him, but just not this way maybe," said Amy.
The Parker family said the American Red Cross is helping them find a hotel for a few days.
