KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday marks one year since the natural gas explosion at JJ’s restaurant, which claimed the life of server Megan Cramer and changed the lives of countless others.
It’s been described as a tragic accident that could have been prevented. But for those injured, both physically and emotionally the night of the blast, life still moves forward, even though some of the scars remain.
“Everything still seems very vivid,” said Dr. John Verstraete from his new office on 31st and Main.
For Verstraete and his Plaza Physicians Group employees, February 19th, 2013 is still a blur.
“A lot of sleepless nights. A lot of worries,” Molly Even, a medical assistant with the group, said.
Even was working in the spa portion of the doctor’s office just next door to JJ’s restaurant. She was inside when the explosion happened just after 5 p.m.
“Margret grabbed me, she’s like a mother basically to me. Grabbed me, pulled me. We went through the back door and then just ran.” Even said as she explained a co-worker who helped pull her out of harms way.
“We put our trust in people we thought knew about it,” Verstraete said, explaining how the group was never told to evacuate.
A year later, the sirens are gone. The debris has mostly been cleared. At Verstraete’s House of Elan doctor’s office, a blue tarp sits over a still damaged building and the emotional scars still linger.
“People’s mistakes affected our lives that much. I was worried about not having a job for a while. What am I going to do?” Even said from the groups new office on Main street.
Verstraete said, “You startle easy. The fact that the explosion came out of my periphery, like a car passing will make me jump you know.”
And while the old office building is being repaired, returning the business to the old House of Elan on 48th Street is still up for debate.
“They always talk about us going to the old building and going back. And none of us want to. What are the chances of it happening again? But it’s a place I no longer feel safe,” Even said.
“I’m reluctant to go into the building, but time heals all wounds,” said Verstraete.
