Joanie Hemmer had just given her 10-month-old daughter, Emberlyn, a bath. The young mother and her second daughter share these small evening rituals. Joanie tickles Emberlyn’s feet and rubs lotion on her legs while she tells her fairy tales of faraway places; mystic places where beautiful princesses live on icy mountain castles, and a Sleeping Beauty who can only be awakened by true love’s kiss. Magic kingdoms far from Lincoln, Nebraska. A quick cloud of baby powder and time for dreams.
But there would be no sleep for Joanie. In the morning, Emberlyn would have her legs amputated.
Record storms rolled through Lincoln that morning. Joanie recalled, “A woman in her 90’s was being rescued from her basement down the road. I’d never seen so much water.” Flash floods lapped the top of the grille on the family’s Mitsubishi Galant as she made her way to the highway, “Both my aunts’ homes flooded. We finally made our way out of the city for the hour drive to the hospital in Omaha. I thought my car would hydroplane off the road at any moment but we made it.”
That was one year ago today.
(Donate right here)
UPDATE #1: Chivers just smashed the goal in record time. More updates soon holy smokes.
UPDATE #2: $20,000 in an hour. I spoke with Joanie on the phone. Between the sobs she wanted me to extend her deepest gratitude to theCHIVE Community. She is watching her family’s lives change in real time and this story is only warming up.
UPDATE #3: $30,000!!! Tripled the goal! I think Joanie is in the best kind of shock. I’m boarding a plane to LA. Late Night Chivers, the stage is yours.
Google
Facebook
