The home of an Arkansas doctor — who was quarantined from his family as he worked in a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic — was reportedly destroyed by a tornado.
The twister hit the residence of Dr. Jared Burks, who had decided to separate himself from his wife, Alyssa, and 1-year-old son, Zeke, while logging countless hours as a resident physician at UAMS Northeast in Jonesboro.
Alyssa last Wednesday shared a heartbreaking photo to Facebook of her husband, who was outside the home, greeting Zeke from the opposite side of a glass door.
It was also the first time Jared witnessed his son crawl, Alyssa told KATV.
“As soon as he saw his dad he just raced to the door,” she told the outlet.
“He got up on the glass because I think he wanted him to hold him, so it was sad, it was cute, but it was really heartbreaking because it’s hard.”
The photo spread across the social media platform, with over 65,000 shares as of Sunday night.
“[Jared] is working right now in a rotation that has him all over the hospital, including the ER, and he just felt like it would be responsible for us to quarantine from each other,” Alyssa told KATV on Friday.
Saturday marked Jared’s first day off in two weeks, so he went back to the family’s Jonesboro home, while Alyssa and Zeke went to her mother’s house to maintain a social distance, she told ABC News.
Soon after, a powerful twister touched down in Jonesboro, ruining their home and injuring 22 people in the area, the report said.
Jared was not injured, seeking refuge in a bedroom closet, Alyssa told ABC News.
“We are all safe. Our house is gone. Jared was inside, but he survived by the grace of God,” Alyssa wrote on Facebook Saturday night.
“Please pray for us as we begin to pick up the pieces.”