The Weeks family.

A Story Of A Family's Perseverance After The Onslaught Of Hurricane Harvey's Landfall

Last September, Hurricane Harvey made people from affected areas face their worst nightmares. And one of them is a father from the southern coast of Texas, William Weeks.

Just a month before, he and his wife, Danielle Weeks, had been giddy as they moved in with their two young daughters into an RV park in Port Aransas, Texas. Living by the beach had been their dream, Danielle was nine months pregnant, with another baby on the way, they felt things were finally falling into place.

William is in tears when he saw their home.

After the storm hit, William made his way to his family’s home for the first time. And what he saw is such devastating. It was almost like a war zone. Most of their belongings — from fishing rods to bathing suits and children’s books — were on the ground, covered in mud.

The couple had been advised by her doctors not to travel far from Corpus Christi, that if she missed her C-section because of the storm, it could put hers and the baby’s life in danger.

Danielle was 9 months pregnant on their 3rd child.

So the young family made a last-minute decision to leave their RV in Port Aransas and ride out the storm at a Holiday Inn in downtown Corpus Christi.

“It was intense, crazy, different emotions, from being sad and then the new baby that brought so much hope,” he said.
The joy of their new baby temporarily put the stress of homelessness on hold. At 7:30 a.m., Danielle was wheeled into surgery at a Corpus Christi hospital, and 41 minutes later, Loralynn Cole was born.

“Light at the end of the tunnel for us. The happiness we needed after the down,” William said after the birth of his daughter. “She was a blessing. I just stared at her and thanked God she was OK,” he said. “Just an amazing little baby. Precious.”

When Loralynn was born, she have given her parents hope.

All eyes were stuck to the newest addition as she met her older sisters, Annabella and Alizabeth. “That’s the only thing that matters — our family,” Danielle said. “Making sure that we all stay together.”

The next day, William and his mother went to meet a FEMA representative at his RV. It was the first time he would see their home after the storm struck. He called his wife in tears as he picked up the pieces of their lives.

Fortunately, a neighbor offered to make a hole in the RV with his chainsaw so William could collect what he could from inside. He put everything he wanted to save on a toy wagon. Only a few things had survived.

William was trying to save some of their belongings.

Two states away, in an opposite polar climate full of ski slopes and cabins, the Nelson family watched the Weeks’ plight on TV.

Steve and his wife, Candice Nelson, own a construction company, Nelson Builders, in Durango, Colorado.

A 330-square-foot home had been sitting vacant in their driveway for weeks. They found that many buyers who wanted tiny homes preferred to customize them instead of buying predesigned ones, so the prototype likely wouldn't sell.

The Nelson family.

“When we heard their story, we just kinda — I blurted it out, I think. I just said, ‘Why don’t we just give it to them? Give them the tiny house,’" Steve Nelson said.

They decided to contact ABC News on Twitter. “Would like to donate a 330 sq ft tiny house to this family. Please let us know if you can help us do that,” Nelson Builders tweeted to ABC.

The Nelsons set out to furnish the tiny house before driving the more than 1,000 miles from their home to Corpus Christi to deliver it. They said their church, restaurants in Durango and friends chipped in and donated a mattress and other household items.

Steve and Candice Nelson donated the house to Weeks family.

When William Weeks heard that the Nelsons, whom he had never met, were on their way to give their new house, he said he felt a surge of hope.

“We felt good when we got there, and we saw the family and their faces lit up at the house, the kids were so happy,” Candice said.” For the Nelsons, it was a way to put their craft to work helping others.

It only showed there are still selfless people in this world; they do care about others especially those in need.

“Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light.”

- Norman B. Rice