When Megan went to sleep on Saturday August 23, she was hoping to wake up feeling refreshed. Suffering from nasty bout of COVID, she was looking forward to a lazy Sunday morning in bed with her beloved cat Moonee.

That’s not what happened.

At around 2:30 in the morning, she awoke to smoke filling her bedroom. Her instincts kicked in, she grabbed the only thing that really mattered, the chonky cat Moonee, and made for the door. She could do nothing else as the rest of her belongings went up in flames. For an agonizing 2 hours she waited to call her family on the East coast, her mother thousands of miles away the only person she wanted to talk to. The only thing that mattered though was that her and her baby were safe.

Things can be replaced, people cannot. That’s the mindset that was drilled into us our entire lives, and that’s what saved Megan and her cat that night. Frankly, we’re just thankful she’s alive - if she had taken nighttime cold medication and not woken up in time, this could have ended much differently.

Megan has no renter’s insurance. As she sifted through the burnt out home she realized she has nothing let. Her bed, her clothes and basic toiletries all gone. In the coming days and months she and Moonee are going to need all the help they can get, and it’s more than our family can provide. Any help will be welcomed and greatly, greatly appreciated!