On Friday, April 17th, Chuck, his daughter Dani, and I were involved in an apartment fire that caused Chuck to lose everything. For anyone who knows Chuck personally, this is a tough ask. Let me explain why we have no choice but to swallow our pride and ask for help. 

Chuck and I had picked up his daughter Dani to stay the weekend with us so we could get ready for next week when we were supposed to leave for vacation to visit his newly retired parents down in South Carolina. We had just finished dinner and could hear people outside since there was a wedding party happening in the clubhouse behind his building.

Chuck had passed out on the couch, and Dani had just gone to bed while I relaxed watching TV before going to bed myself. Soon after, I could hear screaming. Thinking it was part of the party, I didn’t think anything of it until they got louder and I could hear cars honking their horns. Once I looked outside, I could see in the top right a glowing orange and smoke. I screamed fire, which woke up Chuck, as I got to Dani’s door when she was about to come out to tell us the same thing. We grabbed Zeus, our shoes, and got out. We sat outside in my car, and we watched it jump from the next building to his since they were connected. Multiple firetrucks, police officers, and EMTs had shown up at this point and asked us to move back. The fire was growing.

We watched helplessly as those brave men and women worked to put out the fire and ensure all of the residents and pets made it out safely. The wonderful neighborhood community he lives in came out to give us jackets, to console us, to hold us as we watched everything everyone worked for just burn.

Thankfully, Dani’s mom had a wonderful friend who was in the area and didn’t hesitate to come get her and bring her home.

Chuck and I walked back holding each other as we watched the roof smolder. By this point, the men and women from the Red Cross had shown up to begin helping us get somewhere for a while. We spent hours in that same clubhouse that had just held a joyous and happy occasion to only then have the most devastating and terrified people who watched their homes become just soot and ash.

And now here Chuck is, having to rebuild his life YET AGAIN! Having ALREADY survived a motorcycle accident that left him with a broken neck and a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). He spent four months in a coma, in the hospital for eight months having to learn how to walk, talk, everything YET AGAIN. It’s been almost 20 years since that first traumatic event and he is sadly here again asking for your help to rebuild during this second traumatic event he’s survived. Anything helps.

Thank you! ♥️