The Fabulous Frat Boys to the Rescue

27 fraternity brothers looking for a service project.  That's the phone call I got earlier this week and today was the day they got their service project.

We met at Sam's Club parking lot so we could have a mini orientation and do as much carpooling as possible.  None of the guys had ever done anything like this so we talked alot about respect for the homeowners and the situations they find themselves in.  We talked about safety and listening to what the homeowner (and me) direct them in doing.

They were all dressed for the weather, rather cool yet sunny, and before long one of their vehicles had sweatshirts piled on the hood as they learned that working causes one to work up a sweat, especially when one works as hard as they were.

Some of them worked on removing the damaged portions of Don's back deck.  With a little bracing here and there it will be as sturdy as it was before the tornado.

Others started working on some of the hanging tree limbs -- there are soooo many on his property and we need heavy equipment to remove about 5 very large trees before starting any rebuilding.  The guys did a great job in removing the ones they could.

A whole bunch of the guys headed inside.  These tackled the removal of flooring, ceiling insulation remnants and firring strips and then learned how to demo walls.  They learned quickly to shovel the trash out the window and the guys outside took wheelbarrow loads to the dumpster.  Teamwork!

Just how many frat brothers can you pack into one room?  Alot!

The outside team, wheelbarrow loaded and using brute force by carrying it overhead!  Who needs a gym?  These workouts are free.

Removing the ceilings from the second bedroom, insulation falling from overhead causes one to pull up the hoodie on your sweatshirt.

Four of the guys went to Billy's house to remove the foam tiles that used to be on his ceiling.  Everything else has been done except putting in this new dining room ceiling and residing one end of his house.  This work was tedious work since each and every staple had to be removed, by hand, and before doing anything they had to remove the dining room furniture.

He's just having way too much fun!!!!

The end result?  A 30 yard dumpster overflowing -- and they didn't even get to the garage!  What a great job guys!!!!  Wish we would've known about you all months ago when all the debris was everywhere!!

And then . . . very late in the work day . . . my phone rang.  All I heard Monty say was that he had cut his finger and was on the way to the emergency room.  He had been installing entry doors at 2 homes and even though he had just called me about an hour ago -- this was one of "those" phone calls that you know isn't good.
I had to bid a very quick farewell and thank you to the frat boys and headed to the hospital.  They had just got him in the room and oh my -- the blood was everywhere!  Ever since his heart attack in 2004 he takes a baby aspirin daily and today we learned they are working -- the blood flowed so much that even trying to get him cleaned up proved to be next to impossible!
We did get into a room where we discovered that he nearly cut the end of his finger off.  He had been using a box cutter style knife and had just put in a new blade!  While cutting the shims off the door frame -- in a split second -- the knife slipped and bam!!!!
They xrayed to make sure the bone was okay and it was.  But they had to rebuild the end of his finger before they could stitch it up.  It took over 45 minutes to put in 7 stitches and he was "done" with this day -- in a big way!  We will need to watch it very closely over the next few days to make sure the rebuilding "takes" and everything heals as it should.  The stitches have to stay in atleast 10 days!  And he needs to go back and finish the door installation tomorrow!  Guess who will be going to help!!!!  And no box cutter style knives will be allowed!

Please pray for miraculous healing and that the pain will subside alot during the night!

Tomorrow is the weekly work day at Michael's where the heating and air conditioning system will be going in and the ceiling insulation will hopefully be completed.  And guess what -- no box cutter knives will be allowed!!!

Until next time . . . many thanks to all the Sigma Alpha Epsilon men who came out to love on "neighbors" they didn't know!  You changed lives today -- and I bet yours is one of them.

Blessings to all.                                         Susan and Monty