News
Sunday, May 1, 2022, 8:04 PM CDT
ANDOVER, Kan. (KAKE) – “I want to raise my kids here. I’m on an acre and a half in Andover, Kansas with a pond in my front yard. It will never be the same.”
Right now, it’s hard for Garrett Owen to find a smile, but you can see it on the faces of children belonging to family and friends.
“The tree might be about to fall and so will the swing. We’ll see what happens when we rebuild,” says Owen.
His swing overturned on a nearby treetop after the tornado destroyed his property. He brought it down and hung it up again.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Owen said. “Most likely it will come right here and attack my house.”
Owen wasn’t home when the EF-3 tornado devastated his Lakeview Heights neighborhood, but he was on his way there when it hit. He came home, and couldn’t find his dog. He eventually found her nearby, but she wasn’t the same.
“She won’t step out of my truck. She’s still a puppy. She’s normally playful and running around,” Owen said.
He had been living in his Andover house for three years before the tornado hit.
“I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know where I was going. I really didn’t sleep after the storm,” he said.
Although the shock has not really subsided, he still feels the support of people around him.
“My work is amazing. My colleagues, it’s amazing, the amount of support,” Owen said.
His friends even put up a warning sign for any potential robbers who might take advantage of the situation to steal. It says, “Smile, because you’re on camera!”
And the children who helped smiled, too, but for a different reason, because that was all they could do.
“I have my kids and my dog and all my neighbors. That’s what’s important.”
If you would like to help Garrett with expenses, please visit his donation page this.
