DETROIT (WXYZ) — We wanted to check back in with a family whose lives have been turned upside down one week after their apartment building exploded.
Detroit apartment explosion: Building torn down due to safety, where residents will now stay
The building has since been demolished, but trying to rebuild their lives after losing everything has been an uphill battle. And for one mother of two teens, her biggest worry is how to prepare her senior in high school for prom next month.
So we used the power of 7 and reached out for help.
Charlene Jackson's apartment building on Littlefield in Detroit blew up in the wee hours of the morning one week ago today.
"I hear a loud boom, it was me thinking so much of an explosion because of the impact," she says. "I'm thinking it was a tornado."
Charlene, who lost her vision at 18 in the hospital, had to use sound to safely escape.
"I heard screaming, so I was going toward the screaming," she says.
Her dad had lived there for 25 years before she and her brother moved into two separate units, so memories run deep.
"We always participated in family events, the backyard was really our secondary home," says Marchala Robinson.
After the explosion, Charlene's concern?
"I'm just worried about my daughter, she's graduating and her prom?" Charlene says. "Like, oh my God, it's not going to go through because everything I had was in the house, my money and everything."
So we reached out to our friends at Unique Lady in Southfield. From an alteration shop 34 years ago, Rana Maroof and her siblings took their mom's vision and created Unique Lady Bridal and Prom Boutique.
So when we called for help?
"She deserves it, especially the family, after going through what they went through," Maroof says. "It's not easy, it's a battle."
For Charlene's daughter, Marchala Robinson, who plans to join the Air Force after graduation, today's fitting was a dream come true.
"I want a fabulous gown," Robinson says. "I wanted it to be unique, and that's what's in the name Unique Lady, so."
After trying on several gowns off the rack, Rana is preparing a custom gown.
"The last one stayed in her where she liked it, but it wasn't exactly what she wanted, that's why I said let me see the picture.. let's start from scratch," Maroof says.
Material, measurements, vision - for a mom who lost everything a week ago, a smile has replaced the frown
"It's just mind-blowing. I still can't believe it. It's just, oh my God. I thank you, I thank Rana and everybody," Charlene says. "Thank you."
