EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — 15 years ago, on February 12, 2009, Karen Wielinski was sitting on the couch in the living room of her home on Long Street in Clarence Center.
She and her husband Doug were watching a VHS recording of American Idol. Her youngest daughter, Jill, was upstairs in her room. Karen asked Doug if he wanted to watch a food show next.
“I don’t have time for that,” he said, popping up from the couch.
Karen got a laugh out of that. She watched as Doug left the room. It would turn out to be the last time she would ever see him.
At 10:17 p.m., Continental Connection Flight 3407, which was on its way from Newark, N.J., fell from the sky and crashed into the Wielinski's home.
“And like, almost instantaneously, like, everything just came tumbling down,” Karen said.
Karen and Jill miraculously made it out of the rubble. Doug did not. Now 15 years have passed.
“It’s a lifetime in itself,” Karen said. A lifetime that’s been filled with milestones she never got to share with her husband of almost 30 years.
At her kitchen table at her home in East Aurora, she talked about the many things that have happened since that terrible night. Their daughters got married. Karen now has six grandchildren.
In the meantime, the family pursued a lawsuit against Continental and after seven weeks at trial, they reached a settlement.
She also saw a gardenlike memorial take shape at the site of what was once the Wielinski's home on Long Street. A pathway through the grass outlines the edges of now now-demolished house. There’s also a single red maple planted that Karen calls “Doug’s tree.”
Karen stayed in Western New York and now lives in East Aurora. There she began writing to cope with her pain. She joined a writing group and shared her work with her fellow writers.
“My mind would have exploded if I had to keep it all inside,” she said.
She eventually wrote two books, including “One on the Ground,” her story of losing the love of her life. But all these years later, this time of year is still difficult.
“February is always…. I can’t wait for it to be over with,” she said,
This year brings an added layer of emotion. Karen’s daughter Jill, who now lives in Colorado, is a new mom again.
“Jill had some issues during the pregnancy,” Karen said. “Her original due date was going to be end of February.”
Then, the doctors decided to schedule her for a C-section at 37 weeks – that turned out to be Feb. 12.
“I think we all just said OK, I don't know about that,” Karen said.
The doctors changed their minds and set Feb. 6 as the date.
All day Tuesday, Karen anxiously checked her cell phones waiting for word from her son-in-law.
The procedure was supposed to happen at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.
“7:30, quarter to 8 I'm thinking 'Oh, my gosh. he hasn't called yet?'," Karen said.
She Googled: “How long does a C-section take.”
Soon, she got the news she was waiting for: Baby Jacob was born weighing a healthy 7 pounds and 1 ounce and measuring 18 ¾ inches long.
It was a joyful reminder of the miracle of their survival.
“Jill… having two little guys... This is why she survived. You know? So that they could come into this world," Karen said.
Karen will be thinking of her husband Doug and looking forward to visiting her newest grandchild who, during a month of heartache, has brought a burst of joy.
