by Kenny Hudnall saw the devastation caused by the Guadalupe River’s July 4 floodwaters through the windshield of his mother’s minivan on Monday. He saw boats hanging from debris piles thirty feet above the ground, and huge cypress trees that had snapped like twigs.
Many of the volunteers were still using chainsaws to clean up the debris. However, 21-year-old college student Mr. Hudnall was unable to accompany them. He requires a wheelchair to move about and a ventilator to breathe after being largely paralyzed in a vehicle accident when he was five years old.
Nevertheless, he contributed to the revitalization of Texas Hill Country following the devastating floods of July 4, which claimed at least 132 lives and left about 100 more unaccounted for. Less than a week after the devastating rainstorm, Mr. Hudnall was on his way to Camp CAMP (Children’s Association for Maximum Potential), which was presumably admitting new participants, many of whom had physical and cognitive difficulties too significant for other camps.
According to Mr. Hudnall, the atmosphere at camp was a lot like seeing those volunteers on the road. It’s giving someone who doesn’t always feel normal a sense of normalcy.
It was especially poignant—and maybe a little frightening—when a summer camp reopened on Monday, signaling the green shoots that were already emerging in the wake of the flood. At Camp Mystic, 30 miles upriver, more than two dozen campers, counselors, and other staff perished, making it one of the flood’s most memorable tragedies.
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