I never imagined I would ever have to write something like this.

On Thursday April 16th, my mom and I lost everything in a devastating house fire in the Pittsburgh area. We were also left with $100,000 in medical costs.

It happened so fast that there was no time to process what was unfolding. One moment, it was our home—the place we lived, laughed, ate meals, and built our life together. The next, it was gone.

In a recent news interview, ( https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-recovering-massive-pittsburgh-fire-describes-his-intense-escape-flames/URK5ONH6XNBK7PZBHS2663WLHI/ ) I tried to put into words what that moment felt like… but the truth is, there really are no words for watching everything you’ve ever known disappear while you’re just trying to make it out alive. You don’t think—you just move. You just try to survive.

We made it out with our lives, and we are grateful for that more than anything.

But that is all we made it out with.

Our home was completely destroyed. Everything inside was lost—our clothes, furniture, photos, personal items, and memories that can never be replaced.

And the hardest part of all… we lost our dog Cooper and our cat Simba in the fire. They didn’t make it out with us. They were family. They were comfort. They were part of our everyday life, and now there is a silence in our home that we don’t know how to fill.

Right now, my mom and brother are safe, but they are displaced and starting completely over from nothing.

No home. No belongings. No sense of normal life to return to.

Just shock, grief, and the overwhelming reality of trying to rebuild when everything you built your life around is gone.

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What people don’t always see

When the fire trucks leave and the news cameras move on, that’s when the reality really sets in.

It’s the small things that suddenly feel impossible—having clothes for the next day, a place to sleep that feels safe, basic necessities you never think about until they’re gone.

It’s trying to stay strong for each other while quietly grieving everything we lost.

And it’s waking up every day trying to figure out where to even begin when “normal life” no longer exists. Medical bills, food, and burns stopping us from working.

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What your support means

Any donation will go directly toward:

Temporary housing so we have a safe place to stay

Clothing, food, and daily essentials

Replacing basic necessities lost in the fire

Transportation and immediate living expenses

Helping us take the first steps toward rebuilding our lives

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We are not asking for anything more than a chance to recover from something we never saw coming.

If you can donate, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you can’t, even sharing this means more than you know—it helps us reach people we never could on our own.

We lost our home in a matter of minutes. Now we are trying to rebuild a life that will take much longer.

All we want is a chance to feel safe again… and to someday find our way back to normal.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping us through the hardest moment of our lives.