The storms that blew through north Georgia Wednesday night into the early morning hours of Thursday left paths of destruction in its wake. The Gibbs family is one such family having to deal with recovering from the devastation after the storms have passed.
Mitchell Gibbs recounts the storm Thursday morning.
“At about 12:30 at night, we woke up to what sounded like hail on our tin roof. I looked at Shana (his wife) and said, “We need to get downstairs just to be on the safe side.” As soon as I said that we heard a big loud boom.” It was not until morning did they know what that boom was. Four trees had hit their house in northern White County on Antioch Cemetery Road.
Downed trees
Fortunately, the family had a basement to escape to during the height of the storm that provided them shelter. The resulting aftermath of the storms left large trees on the Gibbs’ home, numerous trees blocking their driveway, and trees and limbs on top of their vehicles.
The storms also affected their 13 year old son Memphis and daughter Rylynn who is ten years old. They now have difficulty staying at home at night. Since the storm, they have stayed either with an aunt or their grandmother, Loretta Gibbs due to their increased anxiety.
The trees that fell on the house punctured holes in the roof that has resulted in water damage in one of the bathrooms, it knocked the air conditioning unit off of it’s pad, damaged a couple of decks, and broke the facia boards on the back of the house. The damage to the house won’t be fully known until the trees are removed.
However, the storm Wednesday night, just days before Mother’s Day, is not the only storm the family is having to overcome.
Leukemia
Their son Memphis is battling leukemia. He was diagnosed with lymphoblastoma in December of 2022. The disease requires him and his family to make frequent trips to Atlanta so he can receive treatment at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital.
The primary vehicle the family uses for those trips was damaged in the storm Thursday night. Fortunately, the damage was less than originally expected. The family thought the vehicle had been crushed by one of the large oak trees that fell across their vehicles. After removing the fallen trees and debris, they discovered that the Honda Accord only sustained several dents and a broken mirror. However, the car will require a trip to the body shop for repairs, leaving the Gibbs’ without the primary transportation used to take Memphis to Atlanta for his treatments.
The storm couldn’t have come at a worse time. Memphis had an appointment for a chemo treatment on Thursday. Due to the damage at their home and the primary vehicle under a tree, his grandfather, Michael Gibbs had to take Memphis to Atlanta so he could receive his treatment.
Other than the storm, the family has had a few challenges they are having to overcome recently.
Other health issues
Mitchell, Memphis’ father, had knee surgery on May 1 that has restricted his movement significantly. He is an Army veteran and sustained the knee injury while in service. According to Mitchell, his doctor has ordered him to not even drive for at least six weeks and limited his ability to walk or work until his knee has recovered. Once he has recovered from knee surgery, he will have to undergo several weeks of physical therapy.
Also recently, Memphis has had a few challenges as well. Due to his reduced immunity, he developed a fungal infection as well as a staph infection. The staph infection caused a blood clot in his heart that now requires him to take shots twice a day.
The recent infections also reduced his blood count requiring his chemo treatments to be reduced to once a week. However, his blood count numbers are on the rise but with that, his chemo treatments will increase, requiring Memphis to go to Atlanta two to three times a week.
Faith in God
Their faith in God is what is helping Memphis get through his illness. Memphis’ grandmother, Loretta recounts a conversation between her father-in-law and Memphis. He told Memphis that he wished he could take the cancer and all the pain away from him. Memphis responded, “No papa, God gave this to me for a reason and when it’s over I’ll have an awesome testimony.” Loretta states, “ I wish I could be that awesome.”
Even with the challenges they face, they remain infectiously positive and strong in their faith. Mitchell states, “I want to say, don’t lose hope and kiss the ones you love and never be mad at anybody when you go to bed. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Shana recollects the events of Wednesday night and Thursday morning. She tells of how Mitchell and Memphis went to bed upset with one another. When the family first got into the basement, Memphis stated to her, “This is God’s way of telling me don’t go to bed mad at daddy.”
Even with the family’s health issues and storm damage, Mitchell adds, “We are lucky to be where we are at. There are some people that didn’t get so lucky.”
When asked what the family needed, Michael Gibbs, Mitchell’s father stated, “Backs, we need more backs,” referencing removing the storm debris from around the property.
