77-year-old Dina Ament was forced to evacuate her Los Angeles home early January 8 due to the wildfire. Meanwhile, Ament is battling breast cancer and was worried she wouldn't be able to make it out of her house.
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The devastating LA wildfire began last Tuesday and has scorched over 40,000 acres while killing 24 people. It destroyed thousands of people's homes, from celebrities like Mandy Moore and Jeff Bridges to the retired paralegal and grandmother Dina Ament.
After doctors diagnosed Ament five years ago with Stage 1 breast cancer, she has experienced severe neuropathy. This has caused her tremendous pain from her feet to her knees, forcing her to use a walker.
The Challenges Of Evacuating The Wildfire
The Eaton Fire was fiercely spreading throughout her neighborhood, Altadena. Getting the message to evacuate at 4 AM while she smelled smoke and her dog Sadie was barking is a terrifying situation to think about.
"Trying to get down (the stairs) without the use of a walker was almost impossible and I don't even know how I did it," Ament told Today. "You develop a superhuman strength at some point because you have to survive it somehow. So, you do what you have to do and you think about the pain later."
Ament explained how her cottage in Jane's Village was her "dream house." It was historical, and a bit of a "fixer-upper," but she adored her garden most of all. "(It) had this beautiful garden in the back that I loved, and I've been there for 12 years."
Now, her dream home is a "pile of rubble," as Ament called it. Escaping her beloved house was difficult, to say the least. The power went out, so she couldn't open the gate to her driveway. Ament needed to get her car out of the driveway to evacuate.
Thankfully, her neighbors came and requested to help Ament out. The husband who lived next door managed to break the gate to force it open, essentially saving Ament's life. "I don't think I would be alive today if it was not for them helping me get the gate open and it's only because they knew I had health issues," said Ament.
Once she got her car outside, Ament quickly returned to the house to grab the essentials. Her prescriptions, some clothing, dog food, and a few quilts were all she could take. The next obstacle was the eight steps out the front of the house. She was unable to take the back exit since the gate slammed shut.
Meanwhile, her poor Sadie was terrified by the wildfire smoke and the noise, forcing Ament to carry the 65-pound dog into her car. Ament was able to make it down the stairs despite her chronic illness, save her dog, and evacuate safely.
Facing Aggressive Cancer During A Crisis
Although doctors diagnosed Ament with the earliest stage of breast cancer, they deemed it an "aggressive" one. The grandmother had to undergo a lumpectomy that removed the cancerous mass. Three and a half months of chemotherapy followed alongside radiation each weekday for three weeks.
Then neuropathy afflicted Ament which got worse each year. "It's not just my feet and in my hands," Ament explained. "The neuropathy that I have is all the way up into my knees so it makes it really hard for me to get around."
The most unfortunate part is having kidney damage from chemotherapy. This meant that Ament wouldn't take certain medications that would help relieve her chronic and sharp pains.
Making quilts is now Ament's favorite pastime. She makes quilts for her family members as she copes with her health issues. "I was making quilts to keep myself active and keep me from thinking about the daily pain I have because of neuropathy."
Now that Ament doesn't have a home to return to, she has been staying with her brother in Arizona. There's a lot of work to be done, and a lot of emotional feelings to tackle with a tragedy such as this one. Ament's story is just one of many, as the LA wildfire displaced over 100,000 people.
