Online fundraiser to help family displaced by tornado continues to receive donations
Courtesy of Caitlin Nicholson
Dustin Nicholson, 3, of Springfield Township, is shown at Children’s Hospital, where he underwent a second surgery on his hand.
Courtesy of Caitlin Nicholson
The Nicholson home in Springfield Township overturned during last week’s tornado.
Courtesy of Caitlin Nicholson
The five members of the Nicholson family were initially trapped inside their home after it flipped over during last week’s tornado.
A GoFundMe campaign for a family of five who lost their home to the tornado in Springfield Township last week has raised more than $6,700, and is still accepting donations.
Caitlin Nicholson, her husband, Nick, and their five children are currently living at a hotel while their home is repaired.
“We’re just really sore right now,” Nicholson, who started the GoFundMe on her family’s behalf, said Thursday.
Nicholson recalled at about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 25, she felt their mobile home go “airborne.”
She could hear her 5-month-old baby and three daughters screaming for help, but could not hear her husband or son Dustin, 3.
“Nick and Dustin were on the opposite side of the house. I honestly thought they had passed during this. I called 911 and they told me to scream for them, but they didn’t respond at all,” Caitlin said.
The two were able to get out of the house alive, but suffered significant injuries. Dustin had the tendons in his hand cut, and has so far required two surgeries.
“(Nick) is covered head to toe in bruises and cuts. On his one foot, there is a chunk of his foot missing,” Caitlin said.
The National Weather Service determined a tornado touched down in Springfield Township that morning and brought winds of over 120 mph. Beyond the damage to the Nicholsons’ home, the storm also damaged surrounding farms and Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camp.
Dustin was transported to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh that morning for emergency surgery. He required a second surgery Thursday morning, and Caitlin said his hand may not fully heal for a year.
“Right now, it’s all up in the air for what is really going to happen,” Caitlin said.
While the rest of the family escaped from the home mostly unscathed, Caitlin said her 8-year-old daughter Braylee has had issues with a swollen ankle since the storm, and that it may be broken or infected.
The Nicholsons initially stayed with family but were able to get a hotel through insurance. When they are able, their home will go on the same lot, but a different location.
“We’re going to move the house to a different location, just because the kids are so traumatized. For all of us, it will be beneficial to just move it to a different part of the lot,” Caitlin said.
Caitlin thanked her neighbors, first responders and the community at large for the outpouring of support her family has received in the past week.
“So many family members and friends showed up to help clean up our house,” Caitlin said. “It’s more support than we could ever know what to do with.”
The GoFundMe campaign can be found at gofundme.com/f/house-lost-in-tornado.