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09/06/2020 12:00 AMMinutes before a 75-foot oak tree came down in their living room and destroyed their home, Becky Moriarty had managed to moved herself and her daughter, Christy, a few feet away to safety.
"The safest spot I could get her to, because I can't carry her down the stairs, was a little hallway," said Moriarty.
Moriarty and Christy, 13, who was born with Spina bifida, were the only ones inside the Moriarty family home at about 4 p.m. on Aug. 27, when a tornado-fueled storm blazed through Branford. Now, friends and family are rallying with an online fundraiser to help rebuild the family's home of 17 years, which had been modified to be fully accessible for Christy, who uses a wheelchair.
The family of five is currently living with Moriarty's dad in Branford while awaiting word from their insurance company. Her family is safe, and that's the most important thing, said Moriarty; but it will be long road back, and there will be likely be some extra hurdles for Christy until then.
"It was hard to get the home to an accessible spot in the first place; so this is definitely affecting her. The little independence that she has is now missing. So we're working our way through it," said Moriarty. "I'm a non-profit manager, and the program that I manage brings people out of nursing facilities back into the community, if that's their choice. So I know very well how difficult it is to find accessible living."
Christy, who will enter Branford High School as a freshman this year, is remaining upbeat despite the new challenges she's facing, said her mom.
"She's a fighter, our daughter, and from the very beginning has been a positive influence on people around her who may have preconceived notions when somebody has limited mobility and what that is," said Moriarty. "She's a social little girl and she has her friends, and her older brothers have always been supportive. We're doing the best we can to help her gain and have whatever independence she can."
Living Through the Storm
Looking at the storm devastation caused to their home and property as well points all across town, Moriarty said it's a miracle that no one in Branford was critically injured or worse. She was doubly thankful on Fri. Sept. 4, after her oldest son, Keegan, narrowly missed being struck by a falling limb from a storm-damaged tree while driving home through the area of Mill Plain Road and Queach Road. The limb landed on the back of the car, totaling it, said Moriarty.
"When you see the damage on that road, I'm amazed to know that he was safe; and that everyone was safe with what transpired in that space during the storm," said Moriarty. "The car is totaled, but it's just one more thing; and all of those things are possessions and material. We've got our family."
As for those harrowing moments after the house fell around her and her daughter, "...it was terrifying," said Moriarty. "It was just so quick. I'm so thankful for the [weather emergency] alerts, because really without both our phones going off, I don't think we would have known to pay attention. And we were sitting right underneath where the tree came through our house. The situation would have been much different if we hadn't had that 60 seconds or two minutes of warning to get to a safer spot before the room caved in."
The living room overlooks a wooded back yard on their property near the North Branford town line. Moriarty said her decision to get out of the room may have also had something to do with her "mom instincts" kicking in.
"I'm glad I had the wherewithal within those seconds," she said. "I truly never thought what would happen is that a tree would come through my house. That wasn't where I was going, but I guess that's my mom instincts. We try to do something in case something happens; which is what I was doing. I also was trying to assure her that Christy things like that don't happen!"
Moriarty remembers hearing tree branches snapping just before the giant oak came down into their home. She said it all happened so fast.
"I did not hear that tree fall until it hit my structure and I felt it -- and the drywall's coming in, and the rain's coming in, and there's tree branches two feet from your face," she said.
She and Christy then endured the rest of the storm by sheltering as best they could in the hallway of the house.
"In that moment you don't know if it's done," Moriarty said of the storm's potential to do more damage. "That's where we were in that second -- is the structure going to hold? Because I knew it was big...were we going to get out? Is the floor secure? All those questions, as a mom, and as a mom with a daughter that's in a wheelchair. I can't just pick her up, and we can't go out a window."
Moriarty called 911 as the storm was raging, but "...they couldn't get to us," she said. "So I waited, and when I saw my neighbor come out, I yelled; and he helped me get her out the window, and then get her wheelchair out the window."
Since the time the storm took away their home, Moriarty says she and her husband, Kevin, as well as their sons Keegan, 18, Peyton, 15, and Christy have been overwhelmed by the support shown by the community, friends, family, co-workers and members of their church.
As of press time for this story, the "Help Rebuild the Moriarty's Home" GoFundMe effort started online by a friend six days earlier had already raised over $23,000.
"The [fundraiser] is amazing," said Moriarty. "I'm very thankful because I know what a heavy lift it's going to be to get my house to a situation that's not only right for a family of five, but right for a family of five with somebody with wheelchair accessibility needs."
In a twist of fate, Moriarty and the mom of another Branford family which lost their home during the storm, Jocelyn Booth (see related story) both have daughters in the same Girl Scout Troop.
"We reached out to each other to try lend support in this crazy thing that our families are dealing with," said Moriarty. "She gave me some wonderful words of advice; that, as moms, we've got to do whatever we can; and let people know we do need help to get our families back to a safe and appropriate living situation for us. And we're thankful for the strong community that we have in Branford."
Moriarty hopes to be able to let as many people as possible know how grateful her family is to be supported by them.
"Our hearts are warmed by the amount of support we're receiving," said Moriarty. "And it's not about money. It's about the fact that we're supported -- whether it's kind words, or the people that arrived at my house [to] give of their time. That's the strength we see, and the community that we have. I'm just so grateful, and I hope that my children learn a lesson in this - -that we give of ourselves when other people need it. If you don't have the dollars, you give of your time or of your talent to try to help other people that are in need."