When Carol Gross entered the Four Corners Casino Gift Shop in late February, she wasn’t expecting someone to serve her—she was looking for someone she could serve.

Part of a team of Red Cross mental health professionals deployed to Wells, Nevada following an earthquake, her mission was to attend to the emotional needs of residents affected by disaster, an integral component of American Red Cross emergency assistance.

With that mission in mind, Gross struck up a conversation with a young mother who was working her second job at the gift shop. They talked about how the emotional aftershocks caused by earthquakes sometimes exceed the physical ones and about the feelings that linger long after fallen debris has been cleared from offices, homes and streets.

The mother told Gross about the moment when the walls at her primary workplace began shaking and the ceiling fell in around her.

She spoke of her children and their fears that their mother might not be okay and might not be there for them. She told of other workers who were trapped in a spin cycle that seemed to last for a lifetime, although the shaking and destruction actually lasted less than 20 seconds.

When she finished sharing the details of her ordeal, she asked Gross to come to her primary workplace and speak with others who were trying to come to grips with their fears and emotions. Gross agreed, and the next day she met with eight of the woman’s co-workers.

When the shaking stopped, Olsen looked for a female co-worker who he knew was in the next room. As he got to her door, “she just ran right over me,” and the two made an adrenaline-charged exit to the street below.

In the days since, both Olsen and his colleague have experienced feelings of fear and exhaustion, exacerbated by lack of sleep. Other employees told similar stories, and one man said he has found himself crying on occasion.

Gross listened to the workers, offered further opportunities to meet again, and provided advice on dealing with disaster trauma (both for the workers and their children). As she left, everyone at the company thanked her for helping them.