Having grown up here, I am no stranger to the neverending generosity and support found in Forks. Most of you probably bought something from me at one time or another when I was in school. There is a good chance that you didn’t even really want those cinnamon rolls or candy, but you bought from me anyway. That’s what our community does. “Oh, you need money for a school trip, sports camp, competition, etc.? Here’s some cash! Let us know if you need more!”
Despite knowing how supportive Forks is in times of need, I was still very humbled by the love and compassion that was shown to my family during our recent nightmare. I’m not going to go into details for multiple reasons, but mostly because Christi refused to let me have the entire paper to do so. Ha ha, just kidding. She probably would have let me if I asked as she has been especially helpful during this time. However, it is an incredibly long story and most of you know the details anyway.
When our tragedy first unfolded, my husband and I kept it pretty hush-hush. We were in shock, we thought that we could handle it ourselves, and we imagined there would be a lot of doubt. Eventually, we ran out of hope and decided that we had no other choice. We needed help. I posted the story on Facebook and asked for assistance. Within an hour, we had the army of Forks preparing to go into battle with us. For the first time in days, we felt hope. That night was the first night that we actually slept in many nights.
The next morning, with the help of our entire town (and beyond), things (mostly) resolved themselves. In a matter of 24 hours, a losing battle was suddenly won. My husband and I are still in shock about the whole thing, but mostly about the hundreds of people who came to our aid.
Whether it was monetary or emotional support, we can’t thank all of you enough. We made a list of people who helped out in some way so that we will never forget any of you. We vow to repay this act of kindness for the rest of our lives.
Sadly, 33 people helped us anonymously. I can only assume that these people feared appearing in my column. That was a rational fear. I almost made a column purely out of names … because that’s how many people helped. Either way, we cannot thank you personally but just know that we are grateful.
My husband and I are well aware that had we lived anywhere else, we would have been on our own. In the community of Forks though, no one battles alone. Somehow, in a world that tragically has a “not my problem” motto, Forks still has a “we’re all in this together” motto. We’ll never forget that. Thanks again for saving our family.
— Christy, Jim, Savannah, Madelyn and Nolan
