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Woman on road to recovery after August home explosion

WARREN COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) — A 73-year-old Warren County woman is sharing her road to recovery after surviving a home explosion.

It’s believed to have been caused by a gas leak.

Aug. 30, 2017, is a day Rosella Jenkins will never forget. It’s the day her life changed forever.

“I sort of never lost consciousness and I knew I was really aware,” said Jenkins. “And I was talking to myself and I said ‘I have to get out of here’ and I saw one of my porch lights and I just said ‘I have to crawl toward that light.’”

After escaping her home in the community of Independence, she was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital.

She was alive but lost both of her feet.

“When the surgeon told me that he could not repair my feet — they suffered the most from the blast — I did sob because I was hoping that they could fix me,” said Jenkins.

But Jenkins wasn’t going to let that keep her from getting better.

That’s when the road to recovery began.

The rehab was intense.

“Three and a half hours a day of strength training so that I could move myself around and that I could be prepared for walking in prosthetics,” said Jenkins.

She still lives in Warren County, just a few miles away from where her former home once stood.

Her recovery is far from over and she’s still adjusting to her new lifestyle.

That includes being independent.

“The world from a wheelchair is definitely different, you’re looking at things from a level that you don’t think about,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said the progress has been great and her surgeon is pleased to see how far she’s come.

Soon, she’ll be fitted for prosthetics with hopes of being back on her feet shortly after.

A year from now, she’s hoping to do a 5K.

“Most of the things that I always enjoyed doing I will be able to do in the future,”said Jenkins. “Walking, running, dancing.”

Through it all, Jenkins said it’s all about having a positive attitude.

Instead of looking back, she’s looking ahead.

“I still have my life,” Jenkins said. “I get to see my grandchildren grow up and I get to be with my children and the people I love.”

Jenkins said she has not been back to the scene of her old home.

She said she’s not ready at this time.