Help the St. Johns

You probably heard about the enormous natural gas explosion on October 19, 2016, that damaged more than 30 NW Portland homes and businesses. You or may not know Peter St. John.  Peter is a fire lieutenant in the Portland, OR metro area. Peter was working with one of the crews that quickly and successfully evacuated the nearby buildings as the danger of explosion grew.  Thanks to the work of the crews, residents and employees were evacuated and no one died.

The news reported that a firefighter suffered serious injuries: that was Peter. Both of his legs were broken when the force of the blast blew him across the street. He required several surgeries, and his recovery will include more. He has a large rod in his leg and is healing, hoping the missing piece of his tibia is able to grow back. It has become clear that his injuries are going to require an extended recovery.

Peter’s friends and the community started a Go Fund Me campaign after the explosion and people were generous. Peter and his wife Karyn felt they were lucky to have insurance that covered his medical bills, and felt they could not accept the donation. But as his recovery stretches on, his friends want to do more.

I recently texted Peter to see how he was doing and what he needed.  Joking, he replied, “A down payment for a house”.  It seemed pretty reasonable to me. He is months from walking, let alone working. He, his wife, three kids, and the niece they are raising live in a rented home that does not have a shower on the main floor, where he is spending his recovery time.

I asked Peter what recovery looked like and he explained:

“Currently we live in a rental house with 5 bedrooms 2.5 baths in Tigard. Recovery is kind of unknown. My leg that has the rod the doc expects it to take 6 months but I may need a bone graft at some point. So it's hard to pinpoint. Our middle child Sydney is 6. She was born deaf and has cochlear implants. She attends Tucker Maxon school in Portland on SE Holgate. We have not been able to save up for a home because we pay tuition for her to attend that school plus the gas to get there and back twice a day from Tigard. It's an amazing school that has helped her so much.

She had additional time without good access to sound when her internal devices failed which required her to have 2 additional surgeries at a young age. That left her even further delayed. They offer speech, audiology, teachers of the deaf as well as the ability to attend school with "typical" hearing peers. So every year we are left with the choice do we send her to the school that has been helping her since she was a baby or risk sending her to a public school just to uproot her once we are able to buy a home.

It's a decision that wouldn't be so hard if it wasn't for her hearing loss. But with her loss we fear bouncing her around to different schools and the adjustment curve of the teachers learning what she needs and her settling in would cause more delays.”

Peter is lucky.  He has a family that loves him, a good job and medical insurance.  His friends want to start another Go Fund Me campaign to raise a down payment for a home and support the sacrifice Peter made that day.  There is a saying in the fire service, “risk a lot to save a lot”.  Peter and his crew risked a lot that day.  Peter was reluctant to allow this Go Fund Me to progress - he does not want to be seen as a charity case. I believe our collective response is, “Don’t worry, Peter. You are not a charity case. We want to help. We've got your back.”

Please join as we aim high to get the Peter St. John and his family on their way to home ownership.