Argo tornado victim finally finding reasons to smile

Enlarge Joe Songer -- The Birmingham News Annie Muse visits the grave of her sister Lucille Waters who was killed on April 27th by the tornado that destroyed many of the Muse family homes near Argo in Walker County. Tornado victim Annie Muse of the Argo Community in Walker County copes with the rebuilding of her home and the loss of sister to the tornado. Annie's days are busy. On September 2nd 2011, Annie met a crew from Mazer's in Birmingham to deliver a clothes dryer to her rented Jasper home, went over a bid for new garage doors for her Argo home being rebuilt and kept her daughters dog , a 4 year old chihuahua named "Ginger" company while her daughter was out. Ginger has been home for less than two weeks after spending almost four months at the vet recuperating from her injuries. (The Birmingham News/Joe Songer). April 27 tornado victim Annie Muse gallery

ARGO, Alabama -- Though still facing a long recovery from an April 27 tornado, Annie Muse is beginning to find reasons to smile, such as the return of her 6-pound Chihuahua, Ginger, who squirmed, barked and wagged on one recent day at Muse's under-repair home.
When a tornado tore through the cluster of family homes just off U.S. 78 in Walker County, Muse's sister and nephew were killed; Muse's daughter and grandson were critically injured; four homes were destroyed; and several others, including Muse's, were severely damaged.
Ginger had been in one of the homes that was destroyed and was missing for three days, until found trapped in a pile of debris.
Transported to Animal General Hospital in Jasper, Ginger came under the care of veterinarian Robin Roberts. Having suffered severe trauma to the back and pelvis, Ginger was not herself when she arrived at the unfamiliar animal clinic: "She was the meanest little dog you've ever seen when she came in," Roberts recalled.
But before long, the brown, white and black dog turned affectionate, having figured out the strangers were there to care for her. Roberts said her treatment generally consisted of keeping the inflammation down and keeping the dog still. Considering the circumstances, Roberts didn't charge Muse despite having Ginger under his care for four months.
"Any time we can help somebody like that, that is what you need to do," he said. "Ginger has got a lot of fight in her. And that family has got a whole lot of fight in them, too."
And they've needed it.
Ginger's original owner was Muse's granddaughter Angel Turner. Turner and another of Muse's granddaughters, Catherine Anne Muse, were both 18 when they died in January 2010 in a fire at a Days Inn in Hoover. That came just months after Muse lost her husband of 56 years.
Then came the tornado.
For Muse, now 76, the aftermath of that disaster meant a funeral for her sister, Lucille Waters, who was 88.
It also meant more than a month of managing the care of her daughter, Alondan Turner, 52, at UAB hospital and her grandson, Alvilonte Turner, 14, at Children's Hospital. Alondan was a widow, leaving Muse responsible for both, as they made slow process back to consciousness, through surgeries and into rehabilitation.
It meant Muse lived out of Jasper-area hotels and dealt with a mountain of paperwork: insurance claims on her daughter's home, her sister's estate and her own still-unfinished homeowner's claim.
By early summer, Muse had moved into a rental home in Jasper. The Turners both came home from the hospital in wheelchairs, but after a summer of rehab, both are now walking.
In August, Alvilonte returned to Dora High School. "He is coming along well," she said. "I've talked with his principals and teachers."
Alondan is making progress, too. "She is weaning away from seeing the doctors every week," Muse said.
Money worries

Reconstruction and repair on Muse's house are under way after a claims process that Muse believes has been too drawn-out and adversarial. And it's not over.
"I'm making progress, but to me, I'm making it slow," she said.
She said she is at odds with her insurance company over how much the home restoration should cost. Muse hired the contractor who originally built the home to make the repairs. The insurance company commissioned another bid on the work using a Birmingham contractor. The insurer's contractor came up with an estimate that was $28,000 less. Muse went ahead with her own contractor, and she and the insurance company continue to debate what different portions of the job should cost.
To paint the interior of the 2,800-square-foot, newly wallboarded house, for instance, the insurer's contractor estimated the job would cost $4,000. Muse's contractor figures it closer to $6,500.
"We are going to run out of money," she fretted.
Muse applied for disaster relief with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but hasn't received any because her insurance claim has yet to be closed out. By law, FEMA can't pay for anything that is covered by insurance.
Almost five months after the storm, Muse finds it hard to believe she still doesn't have all the reimbursement money she believes she should get from the insurance company for the hotel rooms she paid for following the storm.
"I'm just hanging on. And I'm getting upset," she said.
But when Muse grows weary, she thinks again about her own survival and the progress her daughter and grandson have made. She is thankful.
"God has been merciful," she said.