MAYFIELD, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some people in Mayfield  lost everything in the December tornadoes, including a special needs teacher. 

Jon Shell's life and many others changed in an instant on Dec. 10, 2021.

"I'm just a guy who got lucky," Shell said. "I didn't do anything special. I'm not a hero. I walked out of place I shouldn't have walked out of."

Shell's apartment in Mayfield was on the second floor.

"The train noise keeps getting louder, (and) all of a sudden, debris is flying," he said. "A couple seconds later, now buildings start to tear apart and fly."

That's when he saw the tornado outside his window.

"We hear the sirens go off, and how many times do you expect a tornado?" Shell said.  "So I just hit the ground. What seemed like 20 minutes later — was probably three seconds because I didn't know what to do — the ceiling fell on me. I'm thinking, 'I'm covered now. Don't move anymore. Don't get up.' Because I can hear things flying all over the apartment."

"(I) had a couple of scrapes on my leg and a bump on my head. That's it."

Daylight showed what was left of his home and belongings. Debris was  everywhere, clothing and bedding scattered, and the roof was ripped off the apartment building.

Bricks, wood and metal is all that's left of the Shell's apartment complex, which has now been demolished. Piles of debris are all over Mayfield as crews continue the cleanup more than two months later.

Shell didn't have renter's insurance and didn't know what to do after surviving the tornado.

"I've been very emotional," he said. "I haven't talked to anybody about it but I probably need to seek professional help a little bit to come to grips. I don't know."

But Shell never expected what happened next.

"I was thinking, 'Where do I start?'" Shell said. "Immediately, people started calling me, because they know where I lived, saying, 'What do you need? What can I do?'

"I don't know what I need."

It's not easy to rebuild your life when you've lost everything. For a person who helps so many, his community is now helping him.

"People are giving so much, and I'm taking my self aback, because you smile and have a warm feeling in your heart," Shell said. "It can be tough."

Shell is a football coach for Graves County High School and a special needs teacher at Graves County Middle School. Some of his students lost their homes, too.

"The outpouring from everyone ... It restored my faith in people again ... what they're willing to do and what they're willing to give up to help people like me," Shell said.  

"Our Youth Services handed me another $500. They're going to help me buy a bed for my daughter's room."

Shell's car was ravaged in the tornado and found in another parking lot. It was badly damaged and undrivable. 

"Our booster club, our Gridiron Club, handed me a car," he said. "It's not a new car. It's a used car. It gets me from point A to point B. They just handed me the title and said, 'Don't worry about it. It's yours now.'"

Even Ton Franklin, a retired Mayfield High School football coach and former offensive coordinator for the University of Kentucky, helped out, too. Franklin set up the Mayfield Cardinals Strong GoFundMe page, which raised nearly $28,000 to help people like former football players and people he coached with like Shell.

On the page, Shell wrote:

"There is no town quite like Mayfield, nor is there any like my hometown of Princeton. Both shaped my life in many ways and shaped the football community in countless ways as well. The people of Graves County and surrounding counties need as much support as they can get right now. We are raising funds to help the families and community in all the ways we can for the weeks and months to come. Any amount can help, even if you can’t give, simply sharing helps. As a football family let’s come together and help our Mayfield Cardinals and the other communities that have done so much for us." 

Shell said Franklin came to him personally.

"He handed me $500 in cash saying, 'We're doing really good things helping people just like you Jon. You're a good guy. You help people all the time. People like you deserve it.'"

Shell is very thankful for the additional donations he has received through that GoFundMe page. And former football player turned coach Alonzo Daniel was also helped by the page.

IMAGES | Tornadoes devastate dozens of cities in western Kentucky

"It's been a blessing," Daniel said. "It would've been difficult for all of us if we didn't get the help from people like Coach Franklin and other people in the community as well."

His brother was deputy jailer Robert Daniel, who was killed inside the candle factory while getting others to safety.

Through this tragedy, both men said they are thankful. Shell said what he's gone through has helped him be a better teacher.

"Here's the difference: Some of the kids I've taught in the past, some in this room, they go through many hardships on a daily basis," Shell said.

He said he has a better understanding now of hardship and a new appreciation for living your best life.

"I've been humbled and I'm not a very humble person, if you talk to any of my friends and coworkers," he said. "This is just over the top."

Thursday on WDRB News, we'll share a bright spot in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, how a restaurant owner is helping customers, one meal at a time, even after she lost her home to the tornadoes.

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