My husband and I lost the entire first floor of our 6,000 sq ft home when superstorm Sandy swept through Southern NJ in 2012. We were displaced for 4 months in a rental home along with our dog, trying to rebuild from the studs, replacing everything including bulkhead, and all outdoor items as well as two cars. The financial, personal and emotional stress layed upon us during this time, loosing so much, unable to replace things like photos, broken keepsakes, and everything we owned in the entire first floor was enough to keep us both experiencing sleepless nights, worry, mounds of paperwork and fighting with the insurance companies (even though we were fully covered), while trying to maintain a normal life. This is something we would never wish on anyone. We got through it with months and months of work and torment but we survived it and for us finally life moved on. The emotional scars are still haunting but for us we still have our home, our health and were able to replace everything accept personal treasures. We have learned to live without them and can not imagine what everyone struggling through the California fires will do. We still had our walls, foundation and a building to work with.
To loose everything in your life, your entire home, all your things, clothing, personal items, identifications, the list goes on and on, we should all take a deep breath and thank our higher powers for all we do have. Sending prayers, strength, and love to everyone involved and know we are all watching, crying, and hoping to help in any way we can. Know you are all loved and know we will try to reach out in any way we can to embrace you all. Hoping you will all find a way to begin again and start over. Take time to heal and remember that after the storm, everything can be Okay!
