HOUSTON — A Spring Branch mother says the damage inside her apartment is only getting worse, one week after a storm ripped through our area. The ceiling and insulation inside continue to fall.
Eliza McGowen and her children rode out the storm in the bathroom.
It's been seven days since McGowen had to walk through soaking wet debris to get out of her apartment. And beneath it all, she says, are valuable items her severely disabled son needs. And at this rate, she'll likely have to start from scratch.
The ceiling and insulation has taken up residence, pushing out Eliza McGowen and her three children.
The best choice for shelter was her bathroom. It’s the only area where the ceiling is still in tact, but the intense heat and water damage fuels other problems.
“The bathroom has a lot of mold and stuff up there," McGowen said.
Throughout, household items and necessities are buried, including things three-year-old Tylon needs to thrive.
“All his little car seats, and his stroller over there, has mold in it mildew on it,” she said.
Tylon is battleing a host of conditions. He doesn't speak, has no mobility and uses feeding tubes. All of his items and specialized milk were lost when the ceiling came crashing down.
"Oh Lord, it took me a while to get them beds because I’m a single parent," McGowen said. "So the aftermath of seeing all of that, now I’m like I gotta redo it all again and feel less than a mom.”
But starting over is delayed. She says she called apartment management repeatedly for debris removal. Friday, one worker arrived and began the cleanup. In the meantime, she’s moved in with her mother.
“And then they expect me to move it," she said. "And then I have to go home. If I move all the stuff, I have to go back to the house with my three year-old who has chronic lung disease.”
Staying strong for her other twelve and six-year-old children is tough. And while they've been through a lot together, they will again come out of it.
“Just trying to keep their mind off the negative and think about the positive," McGowen said. "We are alive. We are still here and breathing.”
In the meantime, the family has a GoFundMe set up to replace some immediate items as they wait to find out what aid Medicaid will provide. If you would like to help the familiy, you can do so on this page.