Donations Help Mantoloking Couple Rebuild After Superstorm Sandy
By Syma Chowdhry
MANTOLOKING, N.J., (CBS) -- Lynn Boettinger and her husband Roger are rebuilding their home and their lives.
Superstorm Sandy damaged their house in Mantoloking – an area hit pretty hard.
They've lived here for more than four years.
When Sandy hit – the retired couple was on vacation for a week in North Carolina.
"When we watched it on TV, we were really quite numb," Lynn said.
When they came back – they found everything soaked and water marks five feet high.
"When you say everything is gone, I mean, even your wash clothes are gone," Lynn said.
The Boettingers did not have flood insurance.
They had to replace everything including floors, cabinets and appliances.
"The clothes dryer, I opened that up. It was filled with water. The kitchen cabinets were filled with water. The pots and pans had dirty, mucky water," Lynn said.
They received assistance from several church groups and organizations, including the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross.
"We are just so, totally grateful," Lynn said.
Lynn and Roger were given about $40,000 – a fourth of that from the Red Cross.
"There is no way physically or financially we could have done this on our own. Absolutely no way," Lynn said.
Now they are slowly repairing the house and celebrating little victories.
"We were so happy, we got a mailbox. It was one step closer to getting back in the house," Roger said.
A step -- all thanks to groups like the Red Cross.
'We don't know how to tell them how grateful we are because they took the pressure off and we knew that money was coming because they committed," Lynn said.
"God bless the Red Cross."
The Boettingers hope to move in by Thanksgiving.
They say without the help of organizations like the Red Cross, it would've taken them years to come back home.
