ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — On average, more than 350,000 homes burn in the United States each year, resulting in more than $7 trillion in damages annually.

For Baldwin County resident Kathy Kennedy, it is another statistic added to a litany of misfortune that has plagued her family for the past seven years.

May 12, Kennedy dove into her car for a 25-mile drive to her home in Summerdale after receiving a phone call from her sister while at work.

Her house was on fire; everything was gone. Co-workers and her employer, Spectrum Resorts, combined provide a home this month for Kennedy and her disabled son.

But Kennedy has become accustomed to loss.

In 2004, her youngest brother, Johnny Lester, died in a go-kart accident in her front yard, prompting the family to move from Silverhill.

The same year, her oldest son, Jaime, met an untimely death in the middle of summer at age 24. Shortly after, her husband Gary was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and fitted with a defibrillator.

“He was quite ill, coupled with depression from Jaime’s dying,” Kennedy said.

A few years later, misfortune would strike the Kennedy family again. Oct. 29, 2008. Kennedy’s then 16-year-old son Cody and her son-in-law, Alan Randall, were in a catastrophic car accident. Both family members were thrown from the car.

Randall was still breathing at the scene; Cody was not.

“They pretty much pronounced him dead at the scene. They started working on him again, and revived him,” Kennedy said. “On the way to the accident, I screamed really loud, ‘God, please don’t take another one of my kids.’ And (my daughter) Natasha said that’s why Cody came back.”

The teenager was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, while Randall was taken to USA Medical Center in Mobile. Randall passed 45 minutes after arriving. Kennedy’s daughter, Natasha, was pregnant with Randall’s child.

Ali Randall was born the day after her father’s funeral.

Cody underwent several surgeries while at Baptist Hospital, and remained comatose during the month he stayed there. On Nov. 24, he was flown to the Shepard Center in Atlanta, where he emerged from his unconscious state.

“He was unable to talk. At that point, they really didn’t think he could see or anything,” Kennedy said. “It was two and a half months before he was even able to whisper a word.”

Her husband Gary stayed in Atlanta with Cody during his recovery. Kennedy and her daughter made the six-hour drive weekly to see her son.

“We basically lived part-time in Atlanta,” Kennedy said.

Along with heartbreak comes an appreciation for small victories.

Weeks later, Kennedy received a call from her husband while at work. He was still in Atlanta with Cody.

“I want you to listen very carefully, but I don’t want you to say anything,” he said.

Anticipating more bad news, Kennedy closed her eyes and listened to the air on the other end of the line. A faint sound cut the silence. A small, soft whisper.

“Mama.”

Cody, although struggling, could speak.

“That was his first word,” Kennedy said.

Still bound to a wheelchair, 40 pounds lighter and fitted with a feeding tube, Cody’s family was able to bring him home on April 1, 2009. With help from her employer and neighbors, the Kennedy’s began making their home more wheel chair accessible.

Cody still struggled. He contracted an infection in his leg that put him in USA Women’s and Children’s Hospital for 27 days. His memory was also suffering; he would ask questions and forget the answer seconds later.

“At that point, he couldn’t distinguish time or anything as far as, if he asked you something right now, a minute later, he asked you again because he couldn’t remember,” Kennedy said. “At that point, his whisper was no longer a whisper. He had a tendency to be very loud and very frustrated.”

But the Kennedy’s were patient; Cody’s memory issues began to subside. Gary built Cody a workout room with “Mosey’s Gym” painted on the wall for Christmas.

“We asked him why he called him Mosey. And he said, ‘because he just moseys around in his little chair,” Kennedy said. “He loved to work out.”

“He loved his daddy dearly. His daddy was like his hero, always, but especially after the accident,” she said.

Jan. 2, Kennedy was back at work with at Turquoise Place on Perdido Beach Boulevard, when Gary called her saying he had fallen ill.

Kennedy suspected that he may be having a heart attack. She called her son, Calvin, to meet her at the house to help Gary.

“I got halfway done Fort Morgan Road, and I thought he was going to call me back and tell me that I was overreacting and to go back to work. But he didn’t, he told me that it was really bad,” Kennedy said. “I had just got into Foley, and thought, ‘now he’ll say things are ok.’ But he didn’t.”

Kennedy called 911 after hanging up with her husband, trading one last “I love you.”

When Gary passed away he and Kennedy were married for 36 years.

After years of facing obstacles, it was almost more than Kennedy could stand when her house burned from an electrical fire.

“I got home to five fire trucks, and a hysterical, brain-injured kid,” Kennedy said. “It was probably more than what he could handle at that point.”

Although firemen were able to retrieve her wedding bands from the home, almost everything else had disintegrated with the house into a smoldering pile of ash, including Cody’s Alabama football memorabilia and the gym his father had built for him. All of her children’s youthful mementos were claimed by the blaze.

“Fires are very tragic,” Kennedy said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about some crazy something that was there that was lost.”

The fire occurred on a Thursday; Kennedy was back to work on the following Monday.

‘I love my job’

Kennedy is a housekeeping manager at Turquoise Place, which is owned by Spectrum Resorts. Her coworkers, as well as the community at large have pulled together to help her pull through.

She was staying with her son Cody at the luxury condominium while General Manager Kathy Williams researched houses on the market and coworkers coordinated fundraising efforts to purchase her new home and buy essentials, like clothing.

“I know some of them are struggling financially themselves,” Williams said. “Our core employees were very generous with monetary contributions and clothing. They held a yard sale, just doing whatever they could do to help.”

Williams found a home in Elberta. Company employees are currently making adjustments so the house is more accessible for Cody.

Kennedy closed on the house on July 1; she expects to move in late August.

With the help of Foley High, the Homeowner’s Association, Star Services and beach club owners, the resort’s charitable committee, the SHELLS committee, was able to raise $6,000. Spectrum Resorts President Jason Voyles and his wife Carolyn made up the difference to purchase Kennedy and her son a house in Elberta.

“Kathy (Kennedy) is a long-term, dedicated and loyal employee. This series of tragedies she and her family have experienced is unbelievable,” Voyles said. “I admire her tenacity and am happy that our company is able to assist Kathy and Cody during these most trying times.”

Kennedy credits community support and her faith for bringing her through the past few years.

“If God brings you to it, he’ll bring you through it. You know, we just keep walking,” Kennedy said. “Everybody has been so great, and doing everything. We just exist. Cody is waiting for football season to start.”

“We just keep going,” she said.

Contributions can still be made to the “Cody Kennedy Benefit Account” at any Visions Bank location.