Trisha's Follow Up Story: How $50K and a Tribe Changed Everything
As I start this, the thought that comes to mind is: Warrior.
We don’t know how strong we are until being strong is our only choice.
One of the hardest journeys I have ever been through started December 19, 2021, when my son was born and had to spend the next few days in the NICU. We were lucky to be released December 23, 2021, and got to spend the 24th with my family for Christmas.
Nothing could have prepared me for this being the last time I would see my mom alive.
On December 29, 2021, my younger sister called me to tell me our mom had passed. I have one picture of my mom with my son and me, and I have the last card she wrote to me.
By spring, we were starting to find a new normal after the loss.
On Easter, I went over to my childhood home. We had heard there was a fire not far away, but that it had been put out. I left that day not knowing that two days later, on April 19, 2021, the Tunnel Fire would reignite and send us into a nightmare.
My dad (Eddie), my sister (Jessie), my nephew (Zen), and my aunt (Sheila) all live together. If it weren’t for my uncle (Terry) warning them about the fire, they would have had no notice. My uncle (Terry) and aunt (Sue) don’t live far from my dad’s property and had seen the smoke and gotten updates online.
Our property was on fire. There were firemen at the end of our driveway who were under orders not to engage with the fire—it was too dangerous, with winds over 60 mph. My dad said when it came through, it was like a blowtorch and it was burning so hot the smoke was on fire. They were driving through the flames on our driveway when the evacuation notice was finally sent out.
My dad went back up the road in my aunt’s truck to see if the fire had jumped over the house. I was on the phone with my sister when he came back and said the house was on fire—that it was gone. It was then that my sister realized that, in the chaos of loading pets, our mom’s ashes had been left behind.
They headed to my cousin’s house to regroup, where I was able to meet up with them.
On April 25, 2022, we were able to return to the property, and this is what we came home to:
Along with the house, we lost three sheds—and the one we thought hadn’t been touched? When we opened it, we found nothing but destruction. We had to let it air out because the smell was so bad. Before we could even start to look for anything that had survived, we got lucky in finding a few things of my mom’s in a chest. A snow globe or something with liquid in it saved a few items.
I started a GoFundMe for my family, to do something to try and help them get the things they needed. And then we started the waiting—waiting for the insurance company to send their people out and to hear from them so we could replace the house. We were focused on just moving forward, because we didn’t know what else to do. And as my dad liked to say:
“We don’t quit. That feels too much like losing. And we don’t lose.”
The GoFundMe helped us get an RV on the property and get it set up for them to live in while we worked on clearing up what was left of our life there. We found little pieces of china plates and teacups that had been our grandmother’s, and other little odds and ends that had survived. But baby albums, Christmas decorations, photos, home movies—it was all gone.
They survived a winter in that RV where we had record-breaking snowfall—163 inches. By then, we also knew the insurance was not going to cover a replacement house. We were now around $40,000 short of just getting a modular home my dad and sister had gone to look at. So we had to wait and see what else we could do.
My dad got a call about a grant that would get him $44,000 and we applied for it. As of right now, in November 2023, we have not heard anything else about that.
Beautiful Disaster started posting asking what we would do with $50,000—and the answer was simple: I’d use it to get the house for my dad. I never thought I would actually win. I was even considering taking out a loan to cover what the insurance wouldn’t.
I was at work on July 13, 2023, fighting with a computer that didn’t want to do what I wanted, when Christina called me. When I went back into my office, I was crying. My boss—who also happens to be one of my best friends and like a brother—thought the worst as I tried to figure out how to talk again and tell him.
I called my dad after. He is still in shock that I won and that now we have actual plans to get the new house to the property.
I took my sister to Chandler to talk to the people at Homes Direct, and they have been amazing with helping us keep everything moving. The amazing people at Desert Sky have been dealing with all the county stuff and making sure everything will go smoothly and quickly. Once the county approves plans, the house will be built and the foundation work will be done to get everything set up.
As this was happening, my dad had to go in for surgery to remove his gallbladder, and it looks like he may have another surgery to remove a blockage sometime soon. We were hoping to have the house before Christmas, but like most things, that didn’t go as hoped.
On March 6, 2024, I had to call an ambulance to take my dad to the hospital. He was having trouble breathing and was retaining a lot of fluids. We found out he was in renal failure. He was also having issues where his heart would start beating too fast and had to get a pacemaker.
He was released to go home on March 27, 2024. He is doing a lot better now and looking forward to when the materials arrive and he can watch Desert Sky start the foundation for the new house. The house itself is built and just waiting for the foundation to be done so it can be shipped and put together on the property.
Josh from Homes Direct has been kind enough to send us pictures of the house build so I could show my dad how the progress is going.
We were hoping to hear from Desert Sky on April 1, 2024, with some updates on when we could expect the foundation to start. The weather has caused a lot of delays for delivery trucks, and they won’t deliver in the mud because they’re scared of getting stuck.
The contractor that bid on this job also told Tamara, owner of Desert Sky, that he needed double the money now to do it because of the weather and timeline. She got rid of him and told me he was being ridiculous—and that she won’t use a guy who does that to her or to my dad and me, especially a contractor she has worked with for over 10 years.
Roger, Tamara’s husband and co-owner of Desert Sky, said he would do the work himself and their crew would be coming up to do the work as soon as she could get the materials.
So now we wait for the next update. But once everything really starts moving, it sounds like it will all be done quickly.
On April 14, 2024, my Aunt Sheila called me to tell me she had to call 911 for my dad. He wasn’t doing well and had to return to the hospital where he was put on a ventilator. Although he seemed to be doing well once that was removed, unfortunately he took a turn for the worse. I had to make the call to put him on comfort care.
We lost him on April 19, 2024—the two-year anniversary of the Tunnel Fire that took the house.
I am currently working on getting his burial flag and his medals from Vietnam that were lost, and just trying to keep myself occupied as we grieve. My dad was so grateful for this money. It took so much stress off him. But he was affected by Agent Orange in Vietnam, which left him with liver disease as well as kidney disease. It appears those organs just weren’t able to handle the added work after his gallbladder had been removed.
I was by his side, holding his hand when he passed, with my cousins Joey and Brandy there as well.
My sister, unfortunately, got herself into some trouble the day before our dad passed, and we are not sure how that is going to play out yet. However, we are still moving forward with the house, even though it looks like we will have to sell it when everything is completed.
We are not able to maintain the property without my dad, but selling it will give us the ability to buy our own house—as well as give my sister the ability to build her life once we know what will happen with her.
The foundation was started on April 15, 2024, and we should be hearing soon on when the house will be coming.
The house was finally delivered on May 1, 2024. After picking up my dad’s ashes, I was on the property to watch it. They used a little machine to tow the two halves into place.
It took months for everything to be put together, but when it was finally complete, it was exactly as we hoped it would be. Only now, instead of moving my family in, we were listing it to sell.
It was hard to know that I would forever be letting go of my childhood home. But we knew at this point my sister would not be able to take care of it herself, and the best thing to do would be to sell. The property was listed September 11, 2024.
While we waited for a buyer, my husband and I decided we would use my share of the sale to go toward our own house. I believe that is what my dad would have wanted.
We did find a house we loved, but our first offer was denied and the listing expired before we were able to try again.
On May 9, 2025, we closed on the sale of my dad’s property. It was a bittersweet day.
I went home after everything and was just looking online at houses listed in our town as I processed everything we had been through. As I was looking, I noticed that the house we had made an offer on was back on the market—an hour after the sale of my dad’s had closed.
We decided to go and look at it again and see if we still felt the same about it. We decided to make another offer and, after months of back and forth, our offer was accepted.
We closed and got keys to our first home on August 8, 2025. We have a lot of plans, and we will be having my aunt—who used to live with my dad and sister—move in with us so we can continue to take care of her. We have things we want to get done while the house is empty, and when that’s done, we will be moving in to this beautiful house!
The $50K giveaway did a lot for us. It gave my dad hope that things would get better. It ended up helping my husband and I get our family into our own house.
Even though we lost my dad before he got to see the house, he was so extremely grateful to Beautiful Disaster. My dad was a Vietnam Veteran, and he spent most of his life being told how horrible he was for it. But this company—this tribe—reminded him that there are amazing people in this world who do things to help others.
Thank you not only for this, but for the tribe that has helped me get through some of the hardest things in my life. Helped me get back into photography and chase my dreams.
I wear my armor with pride and hope.