Now she is left with a handful of charred photos, damaged belongings and two years of memories after a fire destroyed her home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Tuesday.
Irwin, a nurse at Mercy Hospital just a few miles from her home, told CNN she was about to provide livelihood to a Covid-19 patient when her neighbor called and said her house was on fire.
The single mother of four ran out of the hospital and called one of her daughters, who was in the house at the time, to see what was going on.
“She just yelled, ‘Help Mom, help,’ and then the phone cut out,” said Irwin. “I had no idea if my kids were gone, I had no idea where I was coming home.”
A place to ‘recharge’
When Irwin stopped at her house, firefighters were putting out the fire. All three of her children who were in the house came out safely, along with five of their dogs.
“My daughter was sleeping in the back room and my other daughter was in the front bedroom with headphones during her semester finals,” said Irwin. She credits her son for getting the siblings out of the house safely and unharmed.
This Christmas would have been the first Christmas in their house and they were looking forward to spending it together.
“I come home so exhausted that I have almost nothing left in me,” she said. “And the only place I always look forward to is my home and that’s the only place I can recharge.”
She said work can be overwhelming.
“It’s just great,” she said. “We work tirelessly and they (patients) just keep coming and they’re sick. They’ll be fine for a few hours and before you know it, you’re coding them and administering CPR to get their hearts going again.”
Irwin said the fire department and investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire, but told her she probably won’t be able to return home any time soon.
“It’s okay not to be okay,” Irwin said. “I just have to keep telling myself that.”
‘Everyone lost everything but what was on their back’
Irwin said the fire stripped her family of all their basic necessities, such as clothing and food.
“I just can’t digest the thought right now,” she said. “Everyone has lost everything except what was on their back.”
Neighbors paid for a few days of hotel accommodation for Irwin and her children, while members of the community donated a few essentials to keep the family going.
“I know it sounds weird, but last night we had to put our clothes in drawers and that’s normal thing we have now, just a few clothes in the drawers,” Irwin said.
Patti Fanshier and Irwin have had a friendship of 15 years. When she heard what had happened, Fanshier told CNN she wanted to help immediately.
Fans here describe Irwin as a hard-working mother who has ‘always put the needs of her children above hers’. It’s hard for Irwin to ask for help, she said.
“I thought if I could share what had happened to her, a lot of people would want to help – even if it wasn’t financially, but by sharing the link to get it out there,” said Fanshier.
Irwin hopes to secure a rental property in the coming weeks until the damage to her home is repaired. And although Irwin said she lost so much in one afternoon, she is grateful that her children are still right next to her.