Help Katy & Scott recover after devastating fire

Hey everyone,

Many of you have been checking in with me to see how Katy and Scott are doing after a lightning strike set fire to their Chicago area apartment on Friday night.

I spoke to Katy and found out they had to evacuate their home that night immediately with their pup, Fizzgig, their laptops, and Katy’s prosthetic legs before most of their building collapsed.

They are in shock, but they are safe.

Scott was given a few minutes (under fireman's escort) to return to their apartment the next day and grab Katy’s US Paralympic Jersey, a bowl that she got from her dad’s home after he passed away, and a few other precious items that they could carry. Their unit has been labeled in the “red zone” of the building and has been boarded off to access and could be determined to be structurally unsound. They do not know if will be able to get access again and regardless of that, all of their furniture is destroyed by water damage and smoke.

They relocated to Chicago eight months ago to help out Scott’s mother, Donna, who has had health scares recently and his sister Desi, who is cognitively disabled and is not independent.

Before the fire, Katy had planned a surprise wedding ceremony for Scott on Sunday evening on the patio of their apartment. But facing the loss of their home and all of their personal belongings, they were unsure whether or not to proceed with the plan.

In a beautiful moment of “Defiance of Lightning” they decided that regardless of the state of their home, they wanted to commit to each other. They pivoted and Sunday night had a private ceremony in Scott’s mother’s backyard. Wearing flip flops because most of their shoes were still in the apartment.

Yes. You read that right, lightning struck their building right before their wedding.

Katy told me this morning, “If I’ve learned one thing from this, it’s not to wait to live your life. There is no right time to live. Drink the good wine, and do the things you want to do with the people you love. There are no guarantees of time”

Just like the most brilliant humans and artists they are, it does not surprise me that in a high-stakes dark moment, they both have managed to keep their eyes on what matters most.

Each other.

I am so very honored to know them. And I know it can’t replace the precious memories they’ve lost. But perhaps we can help them ease the financial burden of starting over together and make it a little less painful. At this point, they are completely unsure of what they’ll need long term but if you can, please consider contributing to the Go Fund Me I have started on their behalf to get a piece of their lives put back together.

I will be sending Katy and Scott this money to help them start their lives over from scratch. New furnishings, moving costs. They will be starting over and need to replace everything they own.