The Gochenour's Story

Kris Gochenour stands outside with her husband, Dr. Jack Gochenour, in front of the building that once housed their veterinary clinic. She talks about the beautifully colored hollyhocks in front of the building that are nearly as tall as her and then she points across a field to the dike that broke just over a year ago, sending the swollen waters of Willow Creek into her family’s business and home.

It took 45 minutes. That is how quickly the waters came to engulf their home and clinic. 45 minutes to gather precious family pictures. 45 minutes before the Gochenours were wading waist deep in water trying to save animals and whatever else they could.

“One minute I was taking a nap and the next minute we were homeless,” said Kris.

The flood basically destroyed everything in the Gochenour home and their Willow Park Veterinary Clinic, their residence and business for almost 20 years. The devastation left Kris in a state of shock and numbness. Immediately neighbors and strangers offered to help, but between her shock and her sense of pride she turned them down. Then people started to come and help without asking if they were needed. They came from the local community and from all over the state and country, many from churches of all denominations.

“Once we realized that you have to accept the help, it put us in what I call a state of grace for the entire summer,” said Kris. “We were blessed by strangers and friends that chose to help us out of the goodness of their heart and no other reward.”

Volunteers brought a flood of kindness, working alongside Kris and Jack and taking on duties such as scooping out muck from the basement, pulling wet insulation from the walls, tearing out wet plaster and lath and even turning a recently vacated church into a temporary veterinary clinic location. It was this outpouring of support that helped to turn around the outlook of the Gochenours.

“You feel so out of control, but we knew we could control our attitude,” said Kris about the revival of her spirits, “so I vowed that anybody that walked down our driveway to help us was going to get a big smile and hug and that’s what we did.”

One of those people that walked down their driveway was a local case advocate hired by Lutheran Services in Iowa. The LSI case advocate visited Kris and Jack and helped them connect with resources to address some of their unmet needs including a $5,000 grant she helped them acquire to repair their clinic's x-ray machine, an important piece of getting their business and lives back on track.

“I got this feeling we needed her,” said Kris about the LSI case advocate. “She kept asking how we were doing and about what we really needed. The only way she knew what we really needed was to spend time with us.”

Now, over a year later, Kris and Jack are still trying to recover from the flood, physically, financially and emotionally.

“The main surprise is that we are here a year from then and there is just so much to be done,” said Kris. “I think it still overwhelms us at times, and I wish it wasn’t that way. I wish it could be back where we were before the flood but that’s not our reality.”

Unfortunately, this is the reality of the long-term effects of a disaster, but with the help of volunteers, agencies like LSI and a never give-up attitude there is hope to be found in the recovery process.

"It was a very special time for us," said Kris about the recovery process. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but we both have grown from this experience. It changed our lives, it changed our attitudes about mission and how people are willing to help for no reason except it is the right thing to do."