‘I haven’t dealt with the grief yet, I can’t’: Family stepping up just days after blast

LEXINGTON, Mo. (KCTV) - A Lexington family has been left devastated after a home exploded following a gas leak in the area.

Five-year-old Alistair Cunningham died in the blast. His father, Jacob, and 10-year-old sister, Cami, are in critical condition.

Jacob and Cami have a long road ahead to recovery, coupled with the grief of losing Alistair. This isn’t the first time they’ve faced devastation, losing the matriarch of their family just 16 months ago.

But, it started like a fairytale.

“[Jacob] married his High School sweetheart after he served some time in the military, he came back and rekindled their relationship and started a family,” said Cathie Woods, the kid’s grandmother and Jacob’s mother. “They got married at Christmas right here in this living room.”

Cathie says just days later, the nightmares began.

“Two days later, Rachel ed away, so that made Jacob a widower. He lost his car cause he got a wreck on the way home, so he lost his wife and his vehicle that day,” she said. “And here we are just a little over a year later, now he’s lost his son, his home, everything in it.”

Inside the now-destroyed home were Rachel’s ashes. Those have been lost, along with all of the family’s memories and belongings.

The same week as the explosion, Jacob had finished paying off Rachel’s funeral expenses. It was the next step forward in their grief. But now, the family is thinking about how they’ll plan and pay for the next funeral for 5-year-old Alistair instead.

“I do know that Alistair went from Jacob’s arms to Rachel’s arms and that gives me comfort,” Cathie said.

Both Jacob’s and Cami’s conditions are improving. Though Cami remains on a ventilator, Jacob had a breathing tube removed Thursday night. That was the time Cathie told him about the loss of his son. While Jacob focuses on his own recovery, Cathie went to court to get guardianship for Cami so she can approve ongoing surgeries.

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“It’s been a long road so far and it’s only been a few short days, so it’s just been nonstop. I’ve been back and forth between hospitals, today’s going to be the same, they both have surgery today,” she said. “I haven’t dealt with the grief yet, I can’t. I can’t believe, even though I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I spoke to the two that are surviving, I still don’t believe it happened.”

All of this while the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since Wednesday night. Each call: family, friends and community reaching out to offer .

“I want to thank everybody who helped find my children, take care of my children, prayed for them, cried for them, and thought of them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Cathie said.

OSHA, the NTSB, blast.

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