Michelle Million-Worley brushes off the thanks that volunteers assisting in the rebuilding of Joplin usually receive. Instead, she considers herself the thankful one — thankful, she said, for the chance to do something meaningful to honor her daughter, Rayni.
“Rayni loved helping people, and immediately after she passed, I knew she would want me to continue,” she said. “She was an amazing child. She was so giving.”
Million-Worley, of Poplar Bluff, on Saturday wrapped up nearly a week of volunteering for tornado rebuilding efforts in Joplin in memory of her 15-year-old daughter, Shelby-Ruth Rainwater “Rayni” Worley, who died Nov. 7 from complications of a surgery. She said it was her first trip without her daughter by her side.
Million-Worley said she is still working to process her grief, but she takes comfort in knowing how many people her daughter had touched. Rayni donated her old clothes to children living in shelters, volunteered with Vacation Bible School classes and wanted to provide meals to the homeless, she said.
To continue that mission on behalf of her daughter, Million-Worley volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian relief organization that has been in Joplin since the May 2011 tornado. She put up drywall and built the railing of a deck at a house on East 25th Street in Duquesne. On Friday, her last full day in Joplin, she was learning how to cut concrete blocks at a house on the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue.
“She (Rayni) couldn’t have done stuff like this because of her lungs and the dust,” she said, “but this is her kind of thing.”
Rayni was born with severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome, which causes abnormalities in the immune system. As she grew older, she also was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, which involves the scarring of the lungs, and pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. Because of her illnesses, which had been diagnosed as terminal cases, she was homebound through the eighth grade and spent a few hours each day at her high school with other students, her mother said.
Million-Worley said Rayni went into cardiac arrest in the middle of a scoliosis surgery last fall. For two days afterward, she was responsive but on life support. She spent the next two weeks heavily sedated, and at that time Million-Worley made the difficult decision to remove her daughter from life support.
Million-Worley said as she worked this week that she felt connected to her daughter.
“Helping people makes me happy; helping people made Rayni happy,” she said. “This week I’ve had a lot of joy. This week I’ve laughed a lot.”
She said being in Joplin has sparked an understanding of what families — particularly those who lost a child — faced after the tornado.
“I just feel for the people here,” she said. “Unfortunately, I think any parent who has lost a child has a special bond with someone else who has.”
Million-Worley said she chose Joplin because it is relatively close to her hometown, as she was afraid of being far from her friends and family during her time of grief. She and Rayni had also taken a detour through Joplin shortly after the tornado as they drove back to Poplar Bluff from a medical conference they had attended.
“I remember stopping at a gas station, and we were in awe,” she said. “The devastation — Rayni was just taken aback.”
After her week in Joplin, Million-Worley said she will return home to work and save up enough money to allow her to take another break for volunteer efforts.
“I’ve already asked about coming back,” she said.
Local mission
Michelle Million-Worley and her daughter, Rayni, years ago launched Rayni Day Miracles, a nonprofit organization serving children with life-threatening illnesses. Million-Worley continues to work with the organization after her daughter’s death.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Michelle Million-Worley, of Poplar Bluff, spent nearly a week in Joplin volunteering for tornado rebuilding efforts in memory of her 15-year-old daughter, Shelby-Ruth Rainwater “Rayni” Worley, who died Nov. 7. Worley said Rayni was known for helping others. GLOBE | T. ROB BROWN
-
Michelle Million-Worley, of Poplar Bluff, on Friday drills into concrete as she volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse at a home in the 2500 block of South Virginia Avenue. Million-Worley spent the past week in Joplin volunteering in memory of her daughter, Rayni Worley. “Helping people makes me happy; helping people made Rayni happy,” Million-Worley said. GLOBE | T. ROB BROWN
Discussion
Woman volunteers in memory of daughter
- Local News
-
-
Missouri Southern art students to raise funds for Moore, Okla.
Throughout periods of historical change, art has always played an important role, Kahlief Steele contends. “A lot of art came out of the Renaissance period, and the same thing happened after the Great Depression,” said Steele, an art major who will start his junior year this fall at Missouri Southern State University.
-
City manager: CID owes Neosho $158,257
The Big Spring Plaza Community Improvement District owes Neosho $158,257, City Manager Troy Royer told the Neosho City Council on Tuesday night. Royer had filed an open-records request under the Missouri Sunshine Law with officers of the CID he could identify, which he had said wasn’t easy.
-
Ground to be broken for Pittsburg project; 10 homes planned for moderate-income residents
City and Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce officials will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. today at Lincoln Square. An open house also will be held in the home under construction in the new development.
-
Mike Pound: Office space no place for litter box
I knew my wife was lying when she told me to relax. “It won’t be that bad,” she said. “Relax. I’m sure all writers have had to put up with something like this at least once in their career.”
-
Donations helping JHS music programs rebuild after tornado
Building a repertoire for the Joplin School District’s orchestra program is a challenge for Kylee VanHorn. “Every time I get on the Internet and look at the music sites, there are so many pieces I want to purchase, and I just don’t have the money,” VanHorn said.
-
Defendant chooses not to testify in Miami murder trial
Donna Shirley testified Wednesday that Dustin Boggs had blood all over his hands and clothes when she encountered him in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store the afternoon Danyel Borden was killed.
-
Former Jasper County official's sentencing slated today in fraud charges
Rita Hunter, former Jasper County public administrator, is to be sentenced today in federal court in Springfield. Hunter, who held office from January 2005 through December 2008, pleaded guilty last November to document fraud, a charge related to illegal obtaining of federal benefits.
-
MSSU board approves settlement agreement with fired president
Bruce Speck, whose contract as president of Missouri Southern State University was terminated last week, will receive the equivalent of a year’s salary as well as housing and health insurance benefits through the end of the year.
-
Mindenmines man charged in first-degree assault case
Barton County Prosecutor Steven Kaderly on Wednesday charged a Mindenmines man with first-degree felony assault of another man, who was in serious condition at a Joplin hospital. The felony charge against Charles Lee Kerby, 32, alleges that on Sunday he assaulted John Bryant, 58, causing serious physical injuries. The assault happened in the 800 block of Tucker Street in Mindenmines.
-
State auditors start review of Jasper County Circuit Court
Workers for the office of Thomas Schweich, Missouri state auditor, have started an audit of Jasper County Circuit Court. The state review was described as “routine” by Spence Jackson, a spokesman for Schweich’s office.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Missouri Southern art students to raise funds for Moore, Okla.
