Memorial Day - Joplin Tornado and Thoughts

I know many have heard my story of going through the tornado here in Joplin, MO, and the immediate aftermath, compliments of most every major news media in the country. What many may not have picked up on is that my story is not mine alone; all of the residents of Joplin, all those who were just passing through at the wrong time, and all those who have come to help aid the people of this city have stories, too. Each story is different with different perspectives and reactions.



For me, though, there is one person who shares a story very, very similar to mine, because he has been right there next to me through all of it, and that's Diego Hinkle. The part of the story the cameras haven't really covered is that that day, when the sirens went off, Diego was hanging out in my apartment. I went home as soon as the sirens sounded and asked him something I will probably never say again: "Do you want to go see a tornado?". As one of my best friends, he willingly gets roped into a number of my less sane ideas, and came along. I am so glad and grateful he did, on so many levels.



Diego rode through the storm with me in the car, running my camera set on video while I was shouting directions at him, trying to figure out a safe place for us to be. Diego helped me pull the guy who got out into the ditch into my car, and stayed with him, constantly monitoring him for concussion and checking if he was ok. Diego kept both the semi driver the police put in my car and the guy from the ditch calm and talking while I was checking others in other vehicles, and at the same time he managed to get through on the phones to most of our people to verify they were ok, as well as ahold of the truck driver's family and work. In the car until we could get to the triage intersection, Diego kept the truck driver talking, coming up with question after question, wiping his face to try to keep his eyes clear, and helping him turn so he could breathe better. Diego helped keep a former co-worker of mine calm and from going into shock while I looked for her son, then helped me search homes for anyone who might be trapped. When we got to the shelter, Diego jumped headfirst into volunteering, doing anything and everything anyone asked of him, without once ever complaining, and is still helping, every day.



In the last week, I've seen my name connected with everything from "livesaver" to "inspiration" to even "national hero". Memorial Day is normally about recognizing service members who've lost their lives in the service of this great country, and the need to thank every single person in a uniform in and from this country is great, especially with so many of those soldiers being here right now, helping us with this disaster....but for me, this Memorial Day isn't just about the soldiers who have lost their lives; it's for taking a moment to thank MY hero, friend, and "tornado buddy", Diego (David) Hinkle. Words can't express how grateful I am to him or how much he has done. I love you, Diego, and THANK YOU!