ROANOKE, Va. – Nine LewisGale nurses who traveled to help hospitals in the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey are now back home after nearly two weeks.
For Aaron and Jayme Welly, it means coming back to their four kids and their animals.
"I got some crying phone calls from my kids and my 8-year-old girl called me and said ‘Home is not the same without you. When are you coming home?’" Jayme said.
The images they saw flying into Texas are forever stuck in their minds.
"There were roads that were open and cars that were driving so you're like oh well it's not that bad and then you flew a little further and you saw rooftops and that was it," Aaron said.
They joined nurses from across the country to relieve overworked hospital staffers and treat rare illnesses brought about by the flooding.
"There was one case in particular where a young gentleman had an infection and we didn't know what it was and he fought for days before (he) ultimately paid that sacrifice and Harvey took him," Aaron said.
With Irma wreaking havoc in Florida, WSLS 10 asked Aaron and Jayme if they'd be willing to help there.
"I would go but like I said I need to recover and other people need that opportunity to be able to go down there and help, not just us," Aaron said.
The Wellys say it was well worth the sacrifice.
"We went and we were nurses. We do that every day here. But for those people, it literally was a little life changing. They got to go home. They didn't have to worry about work. It was a huge impact for them and they were so grateful," Jayme said.