NIANTIC, Ill. (WCIA) – Malyssha Neering woke up Friday to the sound of a tree falling on her house.

“I honestly didn’t know what happened at first. I thought that it was a tornado,” she said.

Neering and her son have been displaced since storms rolled through Macon County Friday. While the severe weather has passed, not all the damage has been cleared.

“In my son’s room, there’s a big hole,” Neering said. “You can literally see the sky through his bedroom.”

While Neering’s son was safe at school Friday, a tree came crashing down through the ceiling above his bed.

“Honestly, I lost it. I just started crying because it could have been a lot worse than it was. I mean, this is horrible, but it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

Neering says her family is starting over from “absolutely nothing.” Most of their furniture, electronics and home were destroyed in the storm.

“It was so windy and it was so loud – the tree hitting – that I literally thought that it was a tornado,” she said.

Neering was asleep after working a late shift when the first tree fell.

“I had a friend come and pick me up so that I wasn’t here thankfully when the second tree hit,” she said.

The trees have been cleared, but Neering’s roof is still caving in, the shed is destroyed and her home remains “unlivable.”

“I was more worried about me, my son and our cats. But we’re safe for now,” Neering said.

High winds caused trees and power lines to fall across Central Illinois that day, and many people temporarily lost electricity. But Neering lost a lot more.

“With the rain and the snow, it was just like a waterfall in the kitchen,” she said.

Neering is staying with a friend until she finds a new place. The problem is, she says she didn’t have renter’s insurance.

“Single mom budget, so it was kind-of hard. That’s why this is even more difficult,” she said.

Neering hopes her landlord’s insurance will cover the damage. But with no guarantees and a lot of questions, she’s just grateful everybody is okay.

“I don’t want to move from my area because my son likes the school, so I’m not trying to uproot us but at this point I have to do what I have to do,” she said.

Neering wants to thank everyone who has already reached out in support. If you’d like to help, you can find an online fundraiser page here.