Blogging for Therapy After a Fire

As so many of you already know, Bobby and I had a fire at our home last Sunday, Nov. 1. It was a great Sunday. We had the best time on Halloween with our friends the night before. We took a long walk with our cat in his new cat stroller, took care of my Mom at the assisted living center, and had a nice dinner at home. All was good with the world.

Bobby was upstairs in our room on the computer, I was downstairs cleaning up after dinner. All of a sudden we heard a boom, and the house started filling up with smoke. Let me just add, we have adopted a stray cat who lives outside and spends the nights in our basement. His name is Buddy, and we love him dearly. Buddy was in the basement at the time. The basement was in flames. Bobby ran through the flames to save the cat. Buddy escaped just singed. The smoke in the house was thick and it was getting hot. We couldn't find our cat Noodles. We had already called 911, fire trucks were arriving, and they wouldn't let us back in to look for Noodles. But those great firefighters did tear the house apart and search every corner for our beloved cat. We were freaked out, Bobby was burned, and the best day ever turned into the worst nightmare. Fire is the scariest thing I've ever dealt with, and I've been in a few car accidents.

But we were so lucky. The flames stayed in the basement, Noodles was found scared but safe, crouched under the couch. We had to bring Bobby to the hospital for burns to his face, eyes and hands. Thank God he is going to be okay. The emotional healing will take longer than the physical healing. And everything in our house was intact, but badly smoke damaged. The cleanup has been crazy...we've accumulated so much stuff over the years, and it all has to be addressed. All of a sudden this immature, procrastinating couple has to do grown up things to preserve our life.

Our friends have been amazing. Victor took us in for five nights, stayed with us at the hospital, brought us to doctor appointments, and so much more. Sharyn and Kenny were at our house before the fire was even out. Sharyn has spent hours with me, supporting me when I thought I'd break down. What an incredible woman she is. Glenn and Cathie were there for us, helping us move from one place to another, buying us dinner, and even a laptop so I could work. We have a long, scary road ahead of us, but we are lucky for our friends and family, and for our lives and our pet's lives.

I've decided to use this blog to share my story. It's therapy, and it keeps you posted. Next blog...after the fire, the clean up, and how to feel normal again.