She lost it all to Hurricane Sandy — but this Queens mama is still in seventh heaven.
Tyesha Whittenburg, 31, and her seven children have spent the last six months in a rat-infested shelter after the storm toppled their Far Rockaway home.
But this Mother’s Day, she’s just thankful to have her adorable brood.
“It’s not easy at all right now, but I have to smile in spite of everything,” Whittenburg said.
“We’re a show everywhere we go,” she added. “Everybody’s always watching us. They can’t believe we have this many kids.”
The determined mom, husband Brian Ledbetter, and their kids, ages 1 to 11, got some red-carpet treatment yesterday at a Mother’s Day banquet in SoHo.
About 500 homeless moms were treated to prime rib and live jazz at the fancy annual fete sponsored by the nonprofit NYC Rescue Mission.
Whittenburg never imagined she’d be living in a shelter or receiving public assistance.
Before the hurricane, her hubby was starting his own commercial cleaning business and the couple planned to buy a home.
Those dreams were dashed when the hurricane destroyed Ledbetter’s van and cleaning equipment.
Now they’re doing all they can to escape their dingy five-bedroom, two-bath apartment in Brooklyn.
Whittenberg said not many landlords want to rent to such a big family, especially without a steady income.
“That’s my biggest wish for Mother’s Day this year,” she said. “A nice house for my family with a big yard. The situation my children are in right now is not good.”
At one point, the family’s pad was teeming with rats and bedbugs, which exacerbated the poor health of 11-year-old daughter Taliyah, who has lupus.
Taliyah, her sister Myesha, 5, and her brothers Mekhi, 8, and Jahiem, 7, were forced to transfer to Brooklyn’s PS 178, recently reported as having slum-like conditions.
During the day, Whittenburg watches 4-year-old twins Trashawn and Caron and year-old Amanda.
“A lot of people aren’t built to do this — I was built to be a mom of seven children,” said Whittenburg, who has four siblings and whose mom was one of 11 children.
Ledbetter, who has been with his wife for 11 years, said the storm hasn’t broken her spirit.
“She deserves today,” he said. “I don’t know a better woman for the job.”