Almost two months after a fire ripped through a modular home, the skeleton structure is being torn down.
Kory and Renee Bradshaw were in Toronto when their house went up in flames and have never been back to see the destruction.
The two were waiting for a double-lung transplant for Kory, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Paying rent in an apartment close to the hospital, Kory waited seven months for his surgery.
A wait made worse by finding out they had lost their home.
Now, just as their home was being bulldozed, Kory underwent the operation.
Elizabeth Shey lives next door to the Bradshaws, in the Chute Lake area, and is keeping a close eye on the house situation as well as up-to-date on Kory’s health.
Shey says Kory is now breathing 100 per cent on his own, but remains in hospital.
“Things could still happen so even after he is released he will have to stay close to the hospital for three months to be observed,” she explains. “They can’t risk flying back, even with a medivac.”
Kory was forced to go to Toronto for the surgery due to a two year wait list in B.C., too long of a wait for the 40-year-old who only had eight per cent lung function.
The couple pays nearly $5,000 a month in expenses to live in Toronto, and now with the added stress of losing their home, Shey decided to step up.
“I’ve never even met them, but I watched their house burn and the firefighters do everything they could to save it,” she says. “I guess we met at the mail box once, but when I found out where they were and why, I had to do something.”
Shey started a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $25,000 to help the couple with their added expenses.
“We are almost at our goal, we just need a bit more,” Shey says.
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The house is insured and a new modular unit will be brought in; however it’s unclear if the home will be ready by the Bradshaws return to Kelowna.
According to Shey, the couple is very modest and overwhelmed with the community support following their plight.
“They live a very simple life, but all of Kory’s exercise equipment was destroyed and only a few things were saved from the home during the fire.”
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