Lowe’s employees in Amherst give hope to woman enduring tragedy

It’s been a terrible few months for Emily Bren. In early May, she found out her mother had Stage 4 cancer. The following week she lost her husband and father to their three children to veteran suicide, and then her mother passed away five weeks after her diagnosis. To say this has been a difficult time for Bren would be an understatement. To top it off, her basement flooded last week and she was feeling hopeless.

“I cried myself to sleep that night not having an idea how I would overcome this one,” she said.

So, she headed to her local home improvement store, Lowe’s in Amherst, to try and take care of things by herself. The people she would usually turn to for help, her husband, Jason Bren, and her mom, JoAnn Mierzwa, were no longer there and she was trying her best to stay strong.

“How are you today?” the cashier asked. With tears in her eyes she replied, “My husband died, my mom died, my basement is flooded, and I haven’t seen my baby in week but I can’t bring her home because I have to clean out the basement.”

The next words she heard were unexpected. The cashier, Ed, asked how he could help. He gathered volunteers and told Bren that they would come over to take care of the flooded basement…that they were there to support her.

“It wasn’t long after I returned home that Ed was at my house, inspecting damage, calling for more volunteers, giving instructions, and letting me cry. And then Ed gave me hope. It wasn’t long before the volunteers were clearing everything out of my basement, including Jason’s 20+ bowling ball collection, hauling an oversized old school big screen TV, removed carpets, and moved more boxes and bins out of the basement than I want to say. The volunteers washed and cleaned my carpets, they hung hooks in my garage to make space for things from the basement, they set up fans, and they put out dehumidifiers. It was a miracle they performed in my basement.

What would have taken me no less than four days by myself (if not longer) they did for me in six hours. I am still in shock for what Lowe’s did for my family and I. I cannot express enough gratitude for what they did. Their support for veterans in WNY brings tears back to my eyes. Instead of still working on my carpets this Sunday morning, I was able to go to church with my children, the first time my heart could let me go back since losing Jason and Mom.

Please my friends, choose Lowe’s when you make your shopping choice. Their support to the Western NY community and veterans makes me know miracles still happen after so many weeks of pain.”