Our Stories

Social worker Michelle Price will never forget where she was on May 19, 2013. She and her family had retreated to their storm cellar as a tornado was in sight of their neighborhood.

She remembers the feeling. “You can actually feel your ears popping, like in an airplane, only more intense.”

The tornado lasted just a few seconds, but the destruction was long lasting. Michelle’s husband was the first to see the devastation. Michelle said, “He sticks his head out and then comes back down, looking white as a ghost.”

Knowing that it must be bad, Michelle remembered looking at her girls and saying, “Just remember, girls, whatever Dad saw, just understand that everything is replaceable. We are all here, we are all safe and everything is going to be alright.”

Their house was destroyed but their despair was replaced with caring as Michelle’s colleagues across HCA reached out. Michelle said “The next day the money was in our account. It was like a gift from God. It came out of nowhere.”

Michelle and her family are back in their home now and doing well. They were able to rebuild in their same neighborhood. And while the destruction is gone, the memories linger on.

Michelle will tell you she is a different person today because of the perspective only kindness and hope provides. She has been a donor to HCA Hope Fund both before and after her own terrifying experience. She will continue to give to the Hope Fund and encourages everyone to do the same.

Michelle reminds us, “You never know when you are going to need it.”