Oceanside CA— On Christmas morning, fire destroyed the home of Kim and Richie Caraballo and took the life of one of their cats [Link]. Unfortunately, losing their house “is only part of their story.” said Christine Rydzik, a friend of the family.
Christine had set up a GoFundMe site earlier this fall to help the couple defray medical bills incurred by Kimberly due to a serious GI disease. “They are drowning in medical bills due to Kim’s 17+ day hospital stay this fall. Kim has other health issues as well.” explained Christine.
The couple wasn’t really celebrating Christmas this year and Richard was working at his business, Fat Cats Machining, Christmas morning when the fire broke out. “You got to do what you got to do.” Richard told OsideNews about working on Christmas while he was watching, with tears in his eyes, firefighters attempting to save the family’s possessions along with three cats inside the home.

The Caraballo’s have lived in Oceanside for 20 years but 2015 has been devastating to them. “Their house was officially foreclosed upon earlier this month. They had a couple of antique cars in the garage and some other possessions they were planning on selling to help secure an apartment. EVERYTHING was lost in the fire.” said Christine.
Originally set up as a medical fund, the GoFundMe site has been rededicated as ‘Kim and Richie’s Catastrophe Fund’.
Kimberly’s medical woes are not over Christine explains on the site ” She isn’t responding to her current treatments and is now seeing a specialist. She is also struggling with lack of nutrients as her body isn’t retaining anything. There is still a long road ahead, for her, and lots of doctors visits, tests and treatments.”
“Kim, Richie and their 2 cats, Aaliyah and Missy, are living in a hotel in Oceanside right now.” said Christine, ” Their Faith in God is stronger than ever. I personally find them to be an inspiration.”
You can donate to the Caraballo family at https://www.gofundme.com/caraballokim.