Help Tyra and Cloe Sherman

The year of 2017 and 2018 has been a barrage of misfortune and tragedy for the Sherman residence. Tyra Sherman, the loving wife of Mark Sherman was given the news that Mark Sherman had been diagnosed with liver cancer and needed to be put on the transplant list. Already over-whelmed with medical visits and tests, mother nature did not wait with hurricane Harvey. Mark was hospitalized at the time while Tyra and Cloe (the loving daughter of Mark and Tyra) like many Houstonians battled the inevitable flood. Water had flooded the first floor of the house from inside the walls and the first floor needed to be gutted. In November 2017, the Sherman residence needed a trailer to start renovations as well as the long arduous task of recovery with Mark Sherman’s liver transplant. Upon acquiring the trailer, Mark Sherman had fallen and the already low road began downhill once again. Rejection of the transplant and infection had taken the life of Mark Sherman on April 20, 2018 leaving behind his living wife, his step son, and his 6-year-old daughter who now tries to understand why daddy had to leave. While the family grieved, the renovations continued. The house was finally given a date to move in on November 16, 2018. On November 13, 2018, mother nature once again had different plans. As Tyra and Mark’s son, I write this as a plea of help because I will never forget the call I received from my mother. Emotions that you cannot put into words were in her voice as she told me the trailer caught fire and that Drongo (the family dog) was inside. As we pulled up, the scene can only be described as devastation. My family’s whole life was literally in ashes and the hope of getting there in time to save Drongo was crushed. Not only had the trailer been burnt to the ground but the garage that had stored sentimental items of my step father was just a black shell. The fire was trying to spread into the house and the firefighters were working tirelessly to prevent it. The house did not go up in flames which is a blessing, but it did sustain smoke and water damage which will put my mother back to a new square one of the renovation process. You cannot replace a life and my mother and sister are safe at a gracious friend’s house. For that I am thankful. Please do what you can, even if that means going home and hugging your own family.   -Ryan Byrd