“Out of the smoldering ashes rose...

...Michelle, Lynn, and little Toby dog’s wet nose.”

Hi guys, I'm Natasha. Michelle and Lynn, or Sissy and Mama Lynn as I call them, are like sisters to me. These sweethearts have been with me in the most joyful & silly moments filled with laughter, but also have helped me in times of trial. Now it’s time to help them in their time of desperate need.

Michelle who is 69, has been taking care of her 100 yr. old mother Lynn, for the last 30 years. 

Things started going downhill when Michelle’s husband developed brain cancer. He literally lost his mind. Their new business into which they’d invested everything, never had a chance to take off. There were so many mental, emotional and physical stressors, among them, huge hospital bills.

Before Michelle’s husband died,  everything fell into disarray. The business gone, the trailer they’d lived in for 10 years, their mental and physical health all falling apart. When her husband died of bacterial meningitis, Michelle tried hard to keep it all going. She herself developed enormous health issues.

Michelle knew in order to survive their failing health, she needed to purchase a new trailer, which she did. However, the trailer park management wouldn’t allow her to bring it into the park even though other tenants requests for new trailers had been fulfilled.

Their trailer became completely unlivable. There was mold everywhere, rats nesting in their clothing drawers, the floor coming up, no heat or a working fridge. She even had to regularly climb up on the roof to duct tape it together. 

 She spent the remaining money she had left on storage fees for her new trailer, waiting in the wings. As the eternal optimist, always funny, even writing poetry about her circumstances, Michelle hoped park managent would change their minds and let her bring the trailer in, but to no avail. Then there was nothing left. She had to sell her new trailer at a huge loss.

Michelle’s mother  kept getting sicker. She had severe COPD and by now could no longer walk. The uneven floors and the several steps, had become unmanageable for both of them. Lynn became bedridden in 2021. 

Michelle had survived breast cancer, a botched breast reconstruction, and has degenerative disc disease among other things. She was so focused on taking care of her mother she neglected herself completely. She developed a pseudomonas infection, from the environment in her trailer, and was in hospital for a month. However she never gave up! 

If park management had approved her new trailer, they wouldn’t have had to live like like animals. This was pure elder abuse. 

The night before the fire, Michelle had taken her dog for a walk. She passed a homeless man who said to her “ God works in mysterious ways.” 

The next morning at 9:30 am a neighboring trailer caught fire. Within minutes Michelle and Lynn’s home was burning. Neighbors tried breaking down the gate and throwing bricks through  the windows to wake the women up, but both women are quite hard of hearing and didn’t respond. Then a stranger broke down the door and Michelle recalled that all of a sudden there was a man standing by Lynn and her bed. “ Get up, grab your dog and go! There’s a fire!” He forcefully but calmly said.

She picked up her dog wearing only a night shirt and nothing on her feet. He picked up her mother and the wheel chair. Within minutes the trailer was destroyed. Lynn was quickly taken to hospital. 

After the fire was out, Michelle began looking for the stranger who saved their lives in order to thank him, but no one knew who he was or where he went. He had just simply disappeared… an Angel? Indeed! 

God does work in mysterious ways. 

Michelle and Lynn lost absolutely everything. Their most basic essentials- their clothes, shoes, their meds, their hearing aids, their important papers, their prized possessions, their home… as derelict as it was, it was a roof over their heads. They lost everything but their lives and the enormous unconditional love they have for one another. 

They both have so many ongoing health issues only exacerbated by this terrible disaster. They need serious medical care, a home, and peace of mind that indeed God does work in mysterious ways, and that they ultimately will, with God’s help, rise triumphant from the ashes! 

On behalf of Michelle and Lynn, we thank you for your generous spirit as you took the time to read about this Mother and Daughter’s huge loss. They are so grateful for all of you.

We hugely appreciate any donations you can give.