‘A miracle to be alive’: Island couple recalls moment huge tree crashed into their bedroom

Sherry Readshaw looked into the crushed bedroom of her Port Alberni home for the first time since the moment she and her husband crawled out of it covered in blood.

“I honestly don’t know how we got out of there,” Sherry told CHEK News on Tuesday. “It’s still a miracle to be alive.”

“It’s kind of upsetting when you look at the place where you were and realize how close an inch, either way, could have made the difference between life and death,” added her husband, Len.

It was just after 5:30 a.m. that morning of Nov. 17 when Len got up to put the garbage outside and then went back to bed.

Minutes later a huge fir tree measuring fell onto their house — slicing right into their bedroom and the bed they were sleeping in.

“I yelled at him and no answer,” Sherry recalled. “I tried to find him and couldn’t find him so I pushed up as hard as I could and tried to shimmy out.”

“I didn’t know if he was dead or alive.”

Covered in blood they both manage to crawl out of the bedroom, but Len doesn’t remember any of the impact or immediate aftermath.

“I think it came down right on one of the studs rather than in between and we had a big three-quarter inch thick headboard, that’s what snapped and I think that’s what hit me,” he said. “I think those things stopped it from crushing us, the bed did collapse but it stopped it from crushing us or we would have been gone.”

Len suffered a serious head injury and had to get his scalp stapled back together — forcing him to spend the night at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

He continues to suffer from short-term memory loss as a result of what happened.

Meanwhile, Sherry was treated for numerous cuts and scrapes and was released from West Coast General Hospital a few hours later.

They are now staying at a local B&B as they wait for repairs to begin on their home and are thankful to everyone who helped them that day and in the days after.

“Neighbours, friends, volunteer fire departments, all paid personnel, everyone was so caring, both hospitals, paramedics,” said Len.

The couple have been told it could be five months before their home is repaired and they can move back in.

dstoltz@cheknews.ca

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