Due Dates and Water Breaks..

The Plumbing Leak that put our House into Labor

TLDR:

Surgery is on Tuesday, no other big updates. Celebrating stable until the surgery. After surgery we will be here for 2 to 3+ weeks depending on recovery and who you ask.

The rest of this post is about the incredible response we got to the flood that wrecked our house and all the hands that helped lift our home back into place. Sunday morning one week ago today, Joyce and I were rousted from bed early by Donavon’s unhappy cries. He was up before we planned – for the third day in a row. I rose first and got him playing with his cars, and shortly after Joyce came out. Joyce hates white noise, so I typically turn off Donavon’s sound machine. In this instance, I was worried I hadn’t because I heard a nice continuous relatively loud hissing sound. The white noise sound that isn’t static and isn’t waves that you always eagerly skip past. It turned out after some investigation that the hall bathroom hot water supply was broken a few inches above the slab, in the wall, and sending many gallons of water just below the surface of the vinyl wood flooring in our home. The floor was warm. Water came up from the joints with each step.

“Joyce, its supposed to be your water that breaks, not the house’s!” Bob Gorman said of the flood to his daughter, Joyce.

So, with roughly three days until she was to be induced, Joyce packed up Donavon and moved in temporarily to her childhood bedroom at Bob’s house. Months of careful planning of what would happen each day with Donavon’s care all seemingly washed away.

One week later, Sunday morning found Joyce, Donna (aka Grandmommy), and Donavon all peacefully slumbering in their beds.

Here is the miracle of effort and assistance that made that happen: By the end of flood Sunday, Kurt Olsen of TLM Building – one of San Clemente’s great B Licensed contractors and my dear friend and former groomsman - along with Gage Gesiriech –who is many people’s best friend, and certainly mine as well as my best man at our wedding – were ripping out the flooring, tearing out drywall and placing the many fans provided by the flood rental company preferred by Allstate Insurance company.

Kurt would go on to spend every night that week at our house, many nights until midnight or later, one night until 2 in the morning. Kurt also has a newborn baby, the very handsome Revel. Kurt did not have to do any of this. Kurt and his incredible worker Ben were able to repipe the entire house by Wednesday morning – a herculean task. Kurt’s skill was masterful, and his display of construction prowess was superb as he navigated the many weird and awful construction practices from the 1980s tract home boom that rear their ugly heads as soon as walls are open and floors are up.

Dear reader, I will tell you I tried to participate in the repiping to the extent physically possible and on Monday evening was up in the attic helping to set some of the initial connections (which will likely be the ones, if any, to leak). As I crawled through the narrow spaces in between the voids in the roofing trusses, I had a 2x4 in the truss actually snap under my weight. The sudden structural failure nearly sent me crashing through the ceiling to the floor below. I was told to stop moving and while I stayed in place in the attic that was well over 100 degrees completed what I could. Nobody encouraged me up into the attic again.

Conversely, Gage, who is at least 6’4” and maybe on a good day even taller – and as of recently bulkier than I am - managed to crawl on Wednesday night all the way through the trusses, over the exposed insulation, through the narrowing of the open space as the roof slopes down and reach the very furthest points of the home. He did this while complaining profusely, something we could hear through the walls. His temporary rage induced shouts of hatred towards the house, verbal abuse of Kurt, slander of the water lines, talking down to the tools - but in all this – never yelled anything about me, which I deeply appreciate. He also did not fall through the ceiling which Kurt and I had bet on.

Kurt’s excellent drywall contractor – who I will not give out the contact to – if you need drywall or any home construction please reach out to Kurt at TLM Building directly – also came to the rescue – completing the drywall process of many open patches and weird issues within two short days.

Gage then led a thunderous campaign of activity to put together the house with the pipes and drywall back in place. Gage recruited longtime friends and many of the groomsmen from our wedding – Michael, Davey and Joe as well as his own computer genius brother, Gannon. This crew tirelessly painted, assisted with new floorboards, and all the pain in the butt tasks such as replacing organizers in closets and moving an absolutely insane amount of possessions around.

All of these things were overseen by the incredible wives of Kurt and Gage – the endlessly talented Morgan Gesiriech and patron saint of patience Med Olsen (did I mention her husband was gone all week to put our house together, leaving her alone with the newborn baby?). The impact of these two can be felt in the well-organized touch and not random chaos that greeted Joyce upon her returning home from the hospital on Saturday night. It also probably worked to reduce the level of pranking that happened. For instance, only one wall was painted pink. Thank you all for your restraint house heroes – I know I deserved nothing less than a completely pink house – the mercy and restraint exhibit towards Donavon and Joyce is so appreciated.

Last but not least, in the process of all this work, at breakneck speed, there were many times where the optimal caution with dust, fiberglass insulation, drywall, and the general accumulated detritus in the cracks and fissures of a home all become suddenly airborne with this level and pace of construction. This amalgam raised up into the air and through the use of an indoor humidifier and several large fans – ended up settling like a fog onto all things. Everything had to be taken apart, washed and put back together again. All without connected washer machines or water in the house. This task fell to Donna (Grandmommy), Doreen (DoLo) and Jennifer. Who led the charge in item handling and restoration – a task not well suited to the host of barbarians that helped to take the home apart and reconstruct it.

Their tireless work and gentle touch led to the assuaging of a mother’s anxiety about the potential contamination of the safe place for their first-born child, Donavon, to return and receive care while she was gone. And although I got a sore throat, became short of breath, had to use tape to pull the fiberglass from my arms – it appears very likely that all our current and future guests and inhabitants will not be impacted by this flood in any way. Further, the house is likely at its pinnacle cleanliness of all time, right at this moment.

This is such an incredible development in the span of one week. When I left for the hospital Thursday morning – the light of Donavon being able to return home to be cared for under our longstanding plan – was dim. These heroes listed above, ensured that the impossible became possible, and no obstacle was allowed to stand in their way – they worked long hours, surrendered their free time, tolerated some of the most obnoxious personalities in tight difficult spaces (mostly mine), and delivered. I don’t know how I could ever repay these people.

How this happens when we are stuck without the ability to help has been a godsend and truly reflects how unbelievable you all are and how unbelievably blessed Joyce, Donavon and I’s lives are to have such a wonderful and caring extended family. You are all family to us. We love all of you. We are in your debt forever.

While not involved in the house reconstruction directly – the entire family did end up homeless and were taken in without hesitation at Bob (Baba) and Diane (Memere) home. Having a house without Donavon suddenly become a house with Donavon is a lot of work. Not to mention the worries and stresses that preoccupied Joyce’s few days of residency.

Through all o this Diane cooked incredible meals for our family, tirelessly entertained Donavon and quickly cement her place as one of Donavon’s all time favorite people. He giggles, laughs and plays with her with wild abandon. Bob attentively followed as Donavon did countless miles of biking and walking all around his new, temporary community. Baba being Donavon’s right hand man - he doesnt want to go anywhere without him. This temporary invasion lasted through Thursday morning at 330 am – when they woke up to prepare us coffee and snacks for the road to the hospital – and all the way until Saturday night for Donavon. Donavon has a wonderful bed, incredible toys and everything a 19-month-old can dream of at Baba and Memere’s – it is probably up for debate what home and which caretakers he actually prefers now. Thank you all so much. Final shoutout goes to David Graham, the incredible saint of our house reconstruction for dropping everything to finalize all of the small items resolve before the drywall went up on Wednesday, for fixing the back door, installing the baseboards, giving up his Friday evening to stay late on the baseboards.

-Mitch