LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Robert and Sarah Blachowicz’s home sits near Rodney Parham, one of the areas hardest hit by Friday’s EF-3 tornado that tore through Central Arkansas.
Once the tornado wiped through, they said that's when their problems started raining in. Robert is blind, so his and his wife's recovery looked a bit different.
“Pure terror. Never had anything worse happen to me in my entire life,” Sarah, Robert’s wife, said.
In the moments after the tornado hit, Robert and Sarah knew they had to get out of their home.
“The glass had completely blown out and it was all over the floors,” Sarah described. “So, I had to get him over the glass, which there was no way to protect his feet. So, I had to say, you're going to be stepping on broken glass there's no way to stop it.”
As they stepped out into the destruction, they were met with downed power lines and debris. With no sign of Roberts's cane, which he uses to get around, his safety fell into Sarah's hands.
“My disability at that point to other people was irrelevant, and I'm more disabled than I was before,” Robert said.
Robert said he didn’t want to completely rely on his wife because he is independent. However, Sarah didn’t think twice about his safety.
“The terror of how I get my husband out of here safely, you have to put yourself completely last and just get them out of that space because they can’t,” Sarah said. “If they try, they're going to get themselves hurt.”
They found his cane soon after, and for Robert, a fraction of stability returned— but that was only part of the battle.
Their home, now destroyed, was hit at a time when he was working to become a teacher.
“My financial security, since all I had was disability, was that house, and I had it fully paid for,” Robert said. “What do I do now? I just finished all my certifications and then this happened, now I must start with nothing.”
Another battle for Robert has been talking with companies that lend out help during the devastation.
“Getting a hold of FEMA or the insurance company was very difficult, and then they wanted pictures. Well, I can't take pictures,” Robert explained.
For Robert and Sarah, the recovery process hasn't been the same as for other people.
“It's just business as usual, but of course, my life is not business as usual,” Robert said.
Fortunately, there are groups that have understood Robert’s disability.
“Arkansas Division and Services for the Blind, they bought me new clothes, and I have an interview tomorrow with a school district,” Robert said.
As time goes on, both Robert and Sarah know hurdles will remain.
“We’re waiting to see what we can do about vehicles because the problem is we don't know where we're going to end up,” Robert said. “We need a vehicle, and we need to be able to purchase things.”
Despite all the challenges, they have their eyes set on hope.
“We know God's got it, God's going to provide whatever we need,” Sarah said.
Robert said that the main thing he wants to shine a light on is that his disability doesn't hold him back if he has access to the right tools.
In the coming weeks, that's what he and Sarah will be searching for, the tools to help them get through the devastation and destruction.
If you are interested in helping Robert and Sarah Blachowicz, they are accepting donations on GoFundMe or CashApp at $SarahBlachowicz.