THE SADDEST THING IVE HEARD

I cant even fathom it. It was the situation I was told about on this morning's show. One family and their tragedy right before Christmas. How do you deal with it? How do you go on? How can you possibly have a Happy Holiday?

I got a phone call in the 9am hour from a guy named Eric Hudgins who wanted me to get him in touch with the Toys for Tots folks because of his friend Dan Edwards situation.
You see, Dan's house burnt to the ground the other day. Everything was lost. And over the next 24 hours life would never be the same. Dan's wife Brianne was working multiple jobs in order to give their four children a great Christmas. This was a family that didnt have much except eachother and love, lots of love. Brianne was so tired she had to catch some sleep and she did so on the family couch. While she slept her three year old son found a lighter and somehow got it to spark. One spark. Just one little spark. That's all it took. The curtains near the couch where his mother slept went up first. The fire soon engulfed the living room and sped quickly through the house. Somehow the children got out of the house first. They stood in the doorway and screamed for their mother to wake up. Surrounded by fire Brianne Edwards did wake up and she got her children all the way out of the house and into the front yard. She unfortunately couldn't get the family dog and cat out of the house.
According to the Girard Fire Department the Fire spread quickly up the stairs and the entire house was engulfed in flames. Brianne Edwards had singed hair and lost her pets, but her children were okay. They were safe and out of the house. She thought she was alright but she had breathed in an awful lot of smoke and was feeling a little dizzy and light headed. She was taken to the Hospital in Carlinville and everyone in the family thought she would be okay after getting some oxygen. What they didnt realize is that it seems adrenaline is what kept her going long enough to get to the hospital. She had taken in so much smoke. Her body was severely lacking in oxygen. At the hospital is when it happened, she slipped out of Consciousness. She next went into a coma and the Hospital could not get her any oxygen. She was flown to MEMORIAL HOSPITAL IN SPRINGFIELD. It was there she spent the rest of her life. In the hospital with her children and family near her bedside.
Even though Sunday it looked like all the family lost was all their personal belongings and pets, by Monday they lost their wife and mother as Brianne Edwards was declared dead. Dan Edwards, a husband and father in his thirties had lost his wife and his home and he didnt know what to do.
His four children aged 3, 5, 10, and 13 lost their mother and their innocence. These four children now have to deal with a horrible circumstance. The Red Cross helped some. They gave a debit card worth a few hundred bucks to get them some food. Neighbors were bringing some used clothes over and Dans Brother Bill let the family come stay with him. They literally only have the clothes on their back.
Dont get me wrong the community is helping, it's just not a very big community. Dan Edwards is hoping to get his children clothes, get his family food, a place to live, he wants to get his family furniture, get his family a sense of normalcy and it is going to take time. A lot of time. As his 13 year old son is forced to grow up faster than he ever imagined Dan and the boy spent today at the Funeral Home making arrangements.
The Children are in shock and the thought of Christmas is something so far from their minds right now. I doubt they even want to think about celebrating the birth of our savior, celebrating love and family, celebrating togetherness and the hope for peace.... but maybe it's exactly what they need. This is why I am getting involved. I feel that giving these children a good Christmas can give them something that they need to see right now. It can give them something that they can lean on for the rest of their lives. I know it will never bring back their mother but it could bring back a touch of the innocence lost. It could bring magic and hope and most importantly faith back into their lives. It could bring belief that no matter the circumstance there is good, there is decency and there is hope. And it comes from your fellow man, your neighbors, your community.
That is my goal. I want to help this family get a Christmas. As their father worries about getting them essentials, I want to get them things they don't necessarily need but want. They might not want to play video games or read comic books or play with Barbies or fingerpaints right now, but soon they will. I want to make sure they have them, and I need your help.
I need your help to give them Christmas.

If you are interested in helping I have put the kids ages, gender, sizes and more details on THIS PAGE. Click it for details on how you can help.

Another interesting twist to this story is the family itself. Brianne's cousin, Jenny also just lost EVERYTHING in a fire. Jenny's last name is Hudgins and her husbands name is Eric. The same Eric who called to tell me about his Friend and Co-worker Dan Edwards and his wifes cousin Brianne Edwards and the terrible tragedy that has taken place over the last few days. Eric only mentioned in passing that his family had lost all their belongings and when pressed for details he almost seemed ashamed that I wanted to help his children too. You see he feels lucky. All they lost was every possesion but they still had eachother. Eric and Jenny have a 9 and 13 year old and I would like to get their children a nice Christmas as well.

So please do what you can to help. Give if you can or volunteer to help us move stuff around or wrap gifts, or coordinate efforts. You can email me at RAYLYTLE@HOTMAIL.COM

Merry Christmas everyone