Rebuilding Lives: Aid for Racheal and Friends

Hi, my name is Racheal Carpenter. One week ago today, my world as I knew it stopped. At approximately 10:30 am, we noticed a smell of plastic burning, and within less than an hour, I watched my entire home, two furbabies, and my husband be engulfed in the flames. My husband and I had followed our hearts and opened our home up to others who needed a little extra help in life. I had five bedrooms, and four plus a couple of couches were completely full of people we had become like family to. I am a permanent caregiver for a 73-year-old dementia gentleman who also suffers from epileptic seizures named Mr. Doug, a 65-year-old widower who recently lost his home named Joey, a 61-year-old two-time stroke survivor named Tressia, two couples that had fallen on hard times, and two other individuals that needed a hand up in life. When a gentleman named JP and I smelled the fire, we first started to fill pitchers of water, but we then noticed the fire was growing too rapidly and proceeded to get people up. I ran to the room where my husband and two furbabies were sleeping and woke my husband up. We then started clearing the top floor of our home. As we ran out, I was putting three furbabies in the car when I turned and looked towards the house. I saw my husband and JP going back in. I started to scream, and my husband shouted he had to; everyone downstairs was still sleeping. I watched as those two men risked their lives to wake up everyone and get them all out to safety. My husband looked at me one last time, handed me a phone, and said, 'I have to go again; our dogs Kilo and Daisy are in the bedroom.' I started to scream and beg for him not to go. He went on his knees and started crawling under the smoke. I searched for any way to get to him, and I cried as a neighbor made me move away from the house and across the street. I don't remember a lot after that other than the feeling of confusion, unbelief, and total devastation as I watched my husband leave this world in the whirlwind of smoke and debris that was my life. I am now trying to figure out what God's plan is, and it's hard just to put my feet on the ground every morning. Some of our family has found a place here and there to sleep, but nothing stable or permanent. Mr. Doug, Joey, DeAnna, and I have stuck together as Mr. Doug requires 24-hour care, and Joey has no family in this state that he can go and stay with. We are struggling every day just to find a room or somewhere to stay that accommodates the four of us. Food, clothing, hygiene, and just your basic necessities are scarce these days. I also have one fur baby, Cash, that is still with us. Cash is so lost without his dad and siblings. He lays on a bed tucked beside me so close that you couldn't fit a piece of paper between us. He isn't anything small that should be on your lap, but he also is as lost and confused as I am.