MAYFIELD (WSIL)---Bruce Nedrow grew up in Mayfield Kentucky, and met his wife Valerie while they were in high school.
He was also home when the tornado blew through the town.
"We rode it out in our hallway closet, and we feel very fortunate that it did not hit our house, and it was a scary moment," Bruce recalled.Â
Bruce and Valerie did not have a lot of damage with the storm, but seeing their community after it hit was hard to see.
"But it was so devastating to see this tornado go through this town. The town that we grew up in. The church that we worship in, is just gone. It's just hard to understand and believe that our town has taken such a hit," said Bruce.
Their home was protected, but they still lost power.
This presented challenges for Bruce.
"In 2021, February, I was diagnosed with ALS," Bruce said.
ALS affects motor functions, so Bruce needs a machine to help him breathe while he sleeps.
"When the power goes out, and your machine quits, you realize how big of a necessity it is," Bruce explained.
That's when Paint for a Cure and Jeramey's Journey came in, giving a Christmas gift of three thousand dollars to help Bruce after the tornado.
"When the tornadoes and everything happened, we decided we need to come down here, with the specific goal of helping people with ALS," said Jeramey Etherton, founder of Jeramey's Journey.
And Bruce was extremely grateful for the gift given.
"I'm very fortunate to meet other people outside the realm or the box so to speak. It's just an awesome to meet other people that are so involved in reaching out everybody else," said Bruce.
