[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/home-repair-gift-comes-at-high-cost-in-west-milford\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/home-repair-gift-comes-at-high-cost-in-west-milford\/","headline":"Home repair gift comes at high cost in West Milford","name":"Home repair gift comes at high cost in West Milford","description":"WEST MILFORD \u2013 They say when it rains, it pours. For Gwendolyn Bernat, the adage...","datePublished":"2019-12-30","dateModified":"2019-12-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/author\/nj-roofing-co\/#Person","name":"NJ Roofing Co","url":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/author\/nj-roofing-co\/","identifier":5,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c639c025014271d2629f8b6da30ca6f58a126eab3941078d28d11e5633d225e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c639c025014271d2629f8b6da30ca6f58a126eab3941078d28d11e5633d225e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"New Jersey Roofing Company","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo_WD-NJRC.gif","url":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo_WD-NJRC.gif","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/worker-in-uniform-on-ladder-measuring-window.jpg","url":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/worker-in-uniform-on-ladder-measuring-window.jpg","width":900,"height":599},"url":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/home-repair-gift-comes-at-high-cost-in-west-milford\/","about":["International"],"wordCount":827,"articleBody":"WEST MILFORD \u2013 They say when it rains, it pours. For Gwendolyn Bernat, the adage could not be more appropriate.Bernat, a 56-year-old mother of three, survived a near fatal bout with sepsis following a diagnosis of bi-lateral breast cancer about five years ago. The battle to save her life and the resulting fallout have been hard physically and financially, she said, so much so that the figurative hole in her pocket became a literal hole in her roof.\u201cIt was literally pouring in my house on Saturday,\u201d she said, referencing that afternoon\u2019s downpour.Gwendolyn Bernat of West Milford talks about the circumstances that led to\u00a0New Jersey Roofing Co. of Carlstadt offering her a free roof repair on July 3.David Zimmer\/NorthJersey.comThings were different early Monday afternoon, however. There was not a raincloud in sight and three men were replacing part of the Bernats\u2019 roof. It was the part that had been leaking for months, soaking her mudroom and rendering her electric washer and dryer useless during and after rainstorms.Bernat\u2019s insurance company denied coverage on the basis it was a wear and tear issue, she said. At 7:30 Monday morning, however, the president and founder of\u00a0New Jersey Roofing Co. called to say they were coming by to fix her roof for free. The tarp came off soon after. Bernat said. \u201cThis means everything to me. This means comfort for my family.\u201dChuck Anania,\u00a0New Jersey Roofing Co.\u00a0president and founder, has made a habit out of this sort of work. Anania\u2019s Carlstadt-based business has donated more than $700,000 to help 700 families in the states and abroad with home repairs after gaining inspiration from a trip to Cali, Colombia.\u201cOne of life\u2019s most basic needs is shelter,\u201d Anania said. \u201cKeeping a safe, dry roof over your family\u2019s heads has become increasingly difficult for many homeowners.\u201dPrior to her 2012 cancer diagnosis, Bernat said fixing a roof would not have been such a trial. She was a social services caseworker for Passaic County before the diagnosis and all it would entail forced her to quit. I was in shock, but so excited,\u201d Bernat said. \u201cThis means everything to me. This means comfort for my family.\u201dChuck Anania,\u00a0New Jersey Roofing Co.\u00a0president and founder, has made a habit out of this sort of work. Anania\u2019s Carlstadt-based business has donated more than $700,000 to help 700 families in the states and abroad with home repairs after gaining inspiration from a trip to Cali, Colombia.\u201cOne of life\u2019s most basic needs is shelter,\u201d Anania said. \u201cKeeping a safe, dry roof over your family\u2019s heads has become increasingly difficult for many homeowners.\u201dPrior to her 2012 cancer diagnosis, Bernat said fixing a roof would not have been such a trial. She was a social services caseworker for Passaic County before the diagnosis and all it would entail forced her to quit. Bernat went from earning $80,000 a year to relying on disability checks. Her husband of 22 years, Frank Bernat, also lost income having to act as chauffeur and all-around caregiver for Bernat.She underwent 28 surgeries.She said doctors had all but given up after she contracted sepsis, an adverse reaction to infection that impacts otherwise healthy tissues. An experimental antibiotic ultimately ended a 31-day stretch in the hospital that she feared would be fatal.\u201cThey said they would only give me the drug for two weeks,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the end of the two weeks, my face blew up. It looked about twice as big, but I was alive so I didn\u2019t care.\u201dBernat said she came out of the experience a different person, however. She still likes to garden, as evidenced by her flourishing front-yard plots. But she has to sleep for six hours afterward.\u201cCancer zaps you of the person you once were,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t really survive it. You don\u2019t have the same energy, and you always worry it will come back. But it also changes you in the fact that you appreciate life more.\u201dHer own Non-profitBernat now focuses much of her energy on a not-for-profit called Alma\u2019s Hope Against Hope. Named for her mother, who died from mesothelioma at the age of 56, it provides items such as blank journals and gift cards for gasoline to cancer patients. They need rides to treatment and can use the gift cards to barter for a lift, she said.\u201cI just want to pay it forward because it\u2019s just a blessing to be here \u2026 for my family, for my two girls who need their mother,\u201d she said. \u201cI told my mother that if I survive I\u2019m going to give back. So I\u2019m keeping that promise.\u201cI think because I give back,\u00a0New Jersey Roofing Co.\u00a0is giving back to me. And I\u2019m ever so thankful for it. It just makes me want to give more when I\u2019m able to.\u201dRead original article at NorthJersey.com"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home repair gift comes at high cost in West Milford","item":"https:\/\/njroofingcompany.com\/home-repair-gift-comes-at-high-cost-in-west-milford\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]