For Janis Wychopen, one of many North Battleford residents affected by the July 22 hailstorm, it wasn't the loss of her washer, dryer or furnace that had devastating consequences, but the loss of mementos of a son who passed away.
Memories are all Wychopen is left with after the six feet of water in her basement destroyed everything, including irreplaceable 35 mm photo slides.
"It's devastating," said Wychopen.
When the storm hit, Wychopen was just getting ready for work. She managed to call in to work shortly before her phone line went dead. She recalls water trickling in through the window frames, a piece of foundation giving away with an audible crack, and the water just rushing into the basement.
Wychopen was one of the city residents who had to make use of the relief and recovery centre set up at the Don Ross Centre. She stayed in a hotel for four days.
But although she's lost much, she manages to stay positive, saying she's had many wonderful people step forward to help her during her ordeal.
"I wouldn't have survived as well as I did if it hadn't been for Modern Janitorial Services," said Wychopen, who added the compassion and excellent clean-up provided by the company made the ordeal much easier to handle.
She also thanked her friends, Margaret Stephen, Dianne Buziak and Helen Lipsey, her neighbours Oscar Navarro, who repaired the broken concrete in her basement, and Gary Davidson, who shut off her breakers, her boss Chad Sayers, who gave her time off to deal with the issue, and her sister, Grace Merritt.
"I couldn't have survived without them," she said.
