‘Lyme did not kill me, so this will not kill me’
Manotick fire hits small business owned by woman coping with health issues
Cupcakes helped Veronick Ayling get through some dark days after she was forced to leave the Canadian military due to Lyme disease in 2012.
She would lie in bed, too weak to get up, trying to stay positive by working out every detail of what would become her new life — V’s Cupcakes on Main Street in Manotick — from the glittery wall and gold ceiling to cupcake recipes.
Early Sunday morning, Ayling got a phone call that changed everything. By the time she arrived, before dawn, flames were already engulfing her shop and three other businesses along a block in downtown Manotick. By the time it was under control, she had lost everything.
“I was just devastated. I couldn’t believe what was happening,” she said Sunday.
But the 41-year-old former military investigator says she knows how to face challenges and this time will be no different.
“I am devastated … but Lyme did not kill me, so this will not kill me.”
Ayling says she suffers permanent heart damage as a result of Lyme disease. The condition, known as Lyme carditis, occurs when Lyme disease bacteria enters the tissues of the heart.
What is more, she has been involved in a five-year battle with the military to receive benefits after being forced to leave because she became so sick.
The Canadian Armed Forces initially did not acknowledge she had contracted Lyme disease, she said. That meant her disability claim was denied and she did not receive a medical pension, despite serving in the Armed Forces for 16 years.
The military recently acknowledged it made a mistake and should have granted her medical leave, she said. But she has yet to receive full benefits — something she is working on with the military ombudsman.
Along with that stress, Ayling’s health, although stabilized, isn’t great.
Still, she said, she has loved every minute of her business and feels she has touched many lives in the community because of it. She said the outpouring from people after they heard about the fire, has been “heartwarming.”
Her business was insured and she hopes to continue, but doesn’t know any details.
Meanwhile, there is a chance a Lyme disease fundraiser she had planned for next weekend might go ahead somewhere else. She initially cancelled it, but now says the Lyme Challenge might go ahead. More information is available on Facebook under Lyme Fundraiser 2017.
An Ottawa Fire Services official said Monday that the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office has ruled an electrical fault in the roof area sparked the blaze, which caused an estimated $1 million in damage.
The Manotick Village Butcher was also destroyed in the fire, which affected two other nearby businesses.
“We’ll be closed for a while. Fire in the building destroyed everything,” the butcher shop posted on Facebook on Sunday.