By Dana Maze, American Red Cross

When Jonathan Fowler and his mother, Hulene Woody, evacuated the Ortega Oaks RV Park and Campground, there were flames in their rearview mirror.

“We barely had time to pack up before leaving,” said Jonathan.

Hours later, they arrived at the American Red Cross shelter at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center (which has since been relocated to Foothill Ranch Library) for assistance. When Jonathan was checking into the shelter, he shared two important pieces of information: it was his birthday, and his mother started chemotherapy for her lung cancer the next morning.

Jonathan and Hulene preferred to stay in their RV across the street from the shelter and access services including meals, snacks, hydration and more as needed. When they came into the shelter for dinner that night, Jonathan was in for a very special surprise. The Red Cross feeding team gave him cupcakes and sang “Happy Birthday” in unison to restore a sense of normalcy to a chaotic day.

“It definitely wasn’t how I expected to celebrate my birthday,” said Jonathan.

The next day, Jonathan and Hulene headed out to a nearby medical center for Hulene’s chemotherapy. Now, five days later she shared, “I’m starting to feel better.” The Red Cross team also provided her with a walker because hers was left behind when they evacuated.

“I couldn’t say enough about how good everyone’s been,” said Hulene. “And how attentive everyone has been to everything we have needed,” said Jonathan.

Fortunately, Jonathan and Hulene received news that their site at Ortega Oaks RV Park and Campground is still standing but there is no water or power, and they don’t know when they will be able to return home. Until then, they will stay in their RV outside the Red Cross shelter with their 15-year-old dog, Mojo and their cat Yoshi.

This isn’t Hulene’s first encounter with the Red Cross.

“I actually used to work for the Red Cross 40 years ago and used to go to fires and floods and teach First Aid and CPR and all that stuff,” said Hulene. “It’s really come full circle from when I worked with the Red Cross to now receiving assistance.”

Despite the difficult week, Jonathan and Hulene remain positive and hopeful. Jonathan wore a shirt, “Walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5 - 7” and said, “We trust that God will take care of us and work this all out.”

They were also endlessly grateful for the help they had received from the Red Cross. “We don’t know what we would have done without you,” said Hulene.