I have been thanking God all day today for sparing my family. They came so close to losing their lives. Nothing else matters.
Don went to his doctor's appointment today and did another stress test. I didn't talk to him, but I did talk to his wife, Gail. She was sitting in a doctor's office waiting for paperwork to be signed so that she could admit her mother into a nursing home. Gail said Don was on his way home from Lafayette, and while she didn't ask him much about the appointment, the fact that he was heading home instead of being admitted to the hospital meant that he had passed the test. She said he had another appointment for a week from today.
Their home and everything in it is lost. They will spend tomorrow going through the ashes and debris to see if anything can be salvaged before the bulldozers clear it, but they're not holding out much hope. She mentioned today the loss of her grandmother's quilts, and the paintings and sketches of her mother. And they're both sick over the loss of family pictures.
Don asked me last night to wait a few weeks before I come down, and I agreed to do that, but I will go immediately if there's any medical emergency with him. They have checked into a hotel and want to stay there for two or three weeks. Gail said they decided this morning that it's too soon to think about rental property. They need a couple of weeks to see how quickly they'll be able to rebuild, and they might replace their motor home first and stay in it during the construction. She said she just didn't want to think about buying furniture right now. She said the first thing she did this morning was go to a local WalMart and bought personal hygiene items and underwear, jeans and shirts, and a pair of tennis shoes for both of them. She kind of chuckled at what cute shirts they had at WalMart and how little she spent!
I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers today for my family. It was such a freaky thing - but they're safe and that's all that's important.
12 comments:
I'm so sorry for their loss! Your family is in my prayers.
{{Hugs}} Kim
oh, Vicky, that was too, too close for comfort. How quickly Mother Nature can turn on you! Things can be replaced , family momentos cannot and that is sad...but they survived to live another day.
Glad to hear some halfway good news. It's hard to find good sometimes but at least they're all safe, Don's stress test seems to have been ok . . it's still hard to understand.
Judy L.
So glad everyone is safe. Stuff can be replaced, people can't. They must be in shock! I know everything they lost can't be replaced, but maybe the family members could get copies of some of the older photographs and share them? Reproduce the quilt patterns? I know it isn't the same, but it's something.
My ex-husband and I and my oldest daughter lost everything to a fire in September, 1983, EVERYTHING!! But, we were safe, and I can still remember washing what little clothes we had, in the sink of the hotel we were in. The American Red Cross gave us vouchers for a hotel room, and food and clothes, because we did not have insurance, even though we thought we did. That is another story. They will recover from the fire, but will never forget it. I realized a few years ago, that because of the fire, I keep everything that enters my house, neatly of course, because, I never know if I might need it in case of an emergency..... Best of luck to them, I've been there, I haven't forgotten it, but I am doing better now, than I was then.
Some good news - I'm glad. I agree that it would probably be best for you to wait a couple of weeks. You'd probably be more help then!
So glad to hear that you sound calmer now Vicky, we don't want you in the hospital also!
So glad that they seem to be handling the what comes next part ok. And that your brothers dr. visit was ok and not a emergency one. That sounds hopeful.
It's a terrible, terible thing to have happen, but it did cause me think how blessed we are in America not to have bombs falling on our homes and all over our cities. I just can't imagine how people cope with that.
Big hugs to help keep you steady dearheart, Finn
I'm so thankful your family is safe. Blogger wouldn't let me on last night to post, so I'm glad to see they are moving on. It is so hard to lose all the pictures and quilts, but maybe you can fill in with prints of your pictures -- we did that after a fire in my mom's house. It doesn't replace all of them of course, but it helps. I'm sure it helps your brother just to know you're there and standing by.
Prayers and hugs.
So glad that at least they are all safe. It's one of those unbelieveable things that happen. It will be beyond comprehension for a long time still. I still ask my SIL for things or about things, and she will say "NO, that was lost in the fire"
I agree that hopefully she has siblings that maybe can provide her with some things, but it's till very sad. Luckily your brother is okay. I'll keep them in my thoughts.
Vicky, so heartbreaking to think of the quilts/artwork/photos losses, but also how valiant they are, getting some simple necessities and making plans re the mobile home and beginning to think about rebuilding already.
thanks for the update...gosh, it's so hard to take in still...as you said, the main thing is they are all ok.
I'm just catching up here-I am so glad your brother and his family are alright. That is the most important thing. Over time, maybe some other family members may have duplicates or negatives of photos. Thank goodness they have insurance.
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