ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It’s been six weeks since Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, and many people in Central Florida are still dealing with the damage left behind.

Some are still left navigating recovery efforts with contractors and insurance agents and are having trouble picking up the pieces.

It’s triggering for Jennifer Reynolds to return home.

“This is our treehouse,” said Reynolds, walking in the door.

The damage caused by Hurricane Milton is still hard to process.

“This the living room,” said Reynolds. “This is where the biggest branch came through. Our coffee table was down there and it just exploded.”

Reynolds shared that she and her family were camped out in the living room during the storm. They felt safe and prepared, playing games together after having lost power. But after going to sleep, disaster struck.

“My husband and I woke up, of course, simultaneously not knowing what happened, but to the actual ceiling falling on us,” said Reynolds.

They found themselves covered in drywall and insulation as one of their neighbors’ massive trees fell into their house, taking out the support beam of their second story and crashing into their living room. This all happening after they sunk their savings into buying the house in July, and finishing renovations in September, excited to spend the holidays here.

“You know when you are this close to not walking away, you just, you just shift your perspective,” said Reynolds.

Having made it through the storm, they immediately got to work filling out insurance claims and FEMA paperwork.

She explained that while an adjuster was out within a couple of days, the rest of the process moved more slowly than they could have imagined.

“Your hands are tied until the contractor comes out and says, 'OK, this needs to be done,'” said Reynolds. 'We need this amount for this,' and then the mortgage company releases the funds, while also insurance releases more funds. You know, it’s just it is not as simple as, 'OK, this is gonna cost us much money, we need this.' It’s not that simple.”

While they felt good about their insurance, Reynolds said they didn’t realize how much of the cost they’d have to cover upfront, like $10,000 to remove the tree. One contractor estimated it will take over $400,000 to repair their home.

“The numbers can be scary, and then when you have, you know, your total loss for insurance is not given to you, they have just given a partial, you’re like, 'How are we gonna get some of this to that and then be able to move back in our home? What do we do?'”

While they were able to remove the tree and find a rental with the help of their community, which they are very grateful for, she has no idea how long it will be until they can be back in their home.

“There’s no definitive end insight, you know, it all is one thing at a time,” said Reynolds.