On July 21 at 11:50 am, we left home to head to my (Liz’s) doctor’s appointment, planning to go swimming afterward. In true “us” fashion, we remembered everything—except our bathing suits. Call it fate, God, or something in between—but forgetting those suits turned out to be a blessing.

Because we had to swing back home, we were able to catch a fire that had started in our main bedroom while we were gone. Our window unit had caught fire, and our entire home was filled with smoke.

All of our fur babies were inside when the fire broke out. We were able to get them out safely, but our cats inhaled a lot of smoke. Two of them are now receiving 24-hour care.

Rebecca was also taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after trying to go in and save our fur babies.

We know the world feels heavy right now, and this is a big ask—but if you’re able to donate or simply share our story, it would mean the world to us.