Appomattox woman recovering from PTSD following tornado

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APPOMATTOX (WSLS 10) - Nearly a year after the devastating tornado in Appomattox County, people are still recovering both physically and mentally.

We're hearing from one woman who suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after the storm, and has only recently been able to re-adjust to society thanks to counseling.

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Rhonda Mayberry says the hardest thing to deal with wasn't the storm itself, but the effects afterwards.

She spoke to several people Friday night at Grace Hills Baptist Church about her experience surviving the storm that leveled the Town of Appomattox.

She says, although it's been several months, she can feel it like it was yesterday.

"The windows imploded and glass went everywhere and water started coming through the roof. Leaves were blowing around in the house, it was, and you could just hear just noise of things breaking and trees snapping and just that roaring, roaring sound," said Mayberry.

Mayberry took a leave from her job as a nurse back in May to seek counseling, only returning in October.

Counselor Deborah Maxey says Mayberry's experience is not uncommon.

"It would be natural to feel some of the anxiety when you feel the wind blowing and you hear a storm is coming, but a lot of folks don't want to deal with the trauma, they don't want to talk about it because they think talking about it and dealing with it is going to bring up hurt feelings," said Maxey.

Maxey says community meetings like the one Friday can be an important way for people to address those hurt feelings.

Grace Hills Baptist Church will be hosting another event starting at 9 AM Saturday morning and anyone from the public is welcome to attend.