Fort Myers couple handles January full of strife and lauds a little help from friends, family
The world fell on Judy and Leo Violette in January.
The former Down Easters moved from the Kennebunkport, Maine, area 15 years agoand settled into a quiet retirement life in a Fort Myers mobile home park just off McGregor Boulevard.
"We got sick of snow," laughed Leo Violette.
As the new year dawned, nagging back pain bothered Judy Violette to the point she made multiple visits to the doctor.
"I thought it was sciatica," she said.
During a Jan. 3 trip to the emergency room she got an MRI. She told the doctors, "There's something wrong."
She had cancer in one of her vertebrae.
"By Friday, my neurosurgeon scheduled surgery," she said. "It was a total shock. I never had cancer before."
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Her surgery went well, doctors replaced the vertebrae with an artificial one, and she spent time in the hospital recovering.
Then she found out she had a lesion on a bone in her shoulder that caused a break, and more time in the hospital.
Leo Violette, a doting partner in the couple's nearly 50 years of marriage, was holding down the fort at the manufactured home that was their abode and left earlier than usual to visit his wife in the hospital the morning of Jan. 16.
"I was watching the weather, and I didn't want to drive in the rain," he said. "So I left for the hospital around 7 a.m. I usually left at 7:30."
About 30 minutes later their 24-by-36 manufactured home at Tropicana Mobile Home Park would become one of dozens of structures that were destroyed or severely damaged in the tornadoes that swooped down and ravaged the area.
"You definitely had an angel on your shoulder that morning," Judy Violette said of her husband.
Related: SWFL tornado: Fort Myers residents start recovery in the aftermath
By the way: Lee County opens one-stop center to assist tornado victims
The couple just looked at each other in understanding. Had Judy Violette not still been in the hospital they would have been at their 11534 E. Palm Drive home when the twister hit.
Neighbors were worried to call him about the disaster, so Leo Violette didn't find out for a few hours that their home had been seriously damaged.
"They didn't want to tell me. They called my son (in Maine) and he called me" Leo Violette said.
He then adamantly vowed: "no more trailer parks."
The couple had no insurance because the only policy they could find would only cover the dwelling for $16,000, he said.
"The premiums were as high as if it was full insurance," Leo Violette said. The couple turned the damaged structure over to the park for around $5,000 to be demolished.
The Fort Myers couple's January hits didn't end with the cancer and the tornado
The couple's January hits didn't end with the cancer and the tornado.
Tearing up, Judy Violette recounted the coup de gras.
"On Jan. 23, one of our grandsons (Luke Munster, 30) passed away," she said. "They think he had an aneurysm. That was pretty tough. January has been an awful month."
Through a cancer diagnosis, broken shoulder, home demolished by a tornado and the loss of a grandchild the tough New Englanders weathered the storm and with a little help from friends and family is attempting to pick up the pieces.
A gofundme campaign organized by friends hopes to help the Violettes. So far the campaign has collected nearly $12,000 of a $35,000 goal. The funds will help them handle more than $15,000 of out-of-pocket, unaffordable medical bills.
The couple's friends Al and Yelba Boniche are letting them stay as long as they need in a spacious multi-story home, complete with a cute and friendly little Yorkie named Lulu.
"If we didn't have good friends who did this, we'd be in a hotel room," Leo Violette said. "We can't express how grateful we are to the friends we have."
Two of the couple's four children also flew in.
"They came the next day," Leo Violette said. "They were so worried. God bless them, they're troupers."
Others also rallied.
Lily and Joe Ramirez live nearby off McGregor and pitched in at the demolished home, clearing debris and pulling out belongings.
"Their story is really heartbreaking," Lily Ramirez said. "We’re a really tight group of friends ... they are staying with neighbors of ours. It’s been one thing after another for them. But, their faith remains stronger than ever."
Her husband, who had experience with Hurricane Andrew on the east coast, was amazed at the damage and felt the Violette's pain.
"I know it was in a mobile home park, but I haven’t seen this much damage since Andrew in 92. They’re blessed that they weren’t home that morning," Joe Ramirez said.
What the future holds for Judy and Leo Violette is still a question
What the future holds for the couple is still a question.
Leo Violette said first and foremost is to get his wife on a treatment schedule for radiation and then chemotherapy for her multiple myeloma cancer.
Then there will be a search for a place to live.
"We like this area," Judy Violette said. "If you have company and they want to see other parts of Florida, nothing's too far. That's why we came to Fort Myers."
Leo Violette was a bit pragmatic about what's next, housing-wise.
"As nice as this is, it's not 'home'. We're too old to buy a house, get a loan. Who's going to give a loan to a 74-year-old," he said. "Rent, a condo or apartment, will have to be the way."
Judy Violette agreed: "That will do. We don't need much, we have each other. That's the main thing."
Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: A little help from friends, family helps Fort Myers couple after SW FL tornado
