It took only a matter of minutes for Hurricane Fabian to destroy Lydia Joell?s cosy, two bedroom home on Rec-View Hill, Devonshire last September 5.

Her bedroom wall and roof were ripped away as Fabian swept into her neighbourhood, creating a path of destruction headed straight for her house.

This summer, after $85,000 worth of repairs and eight months of waiting for the construction work to finish, Ms Joell is happily settled back at home.

She received the best gift of all when she was able to move back into the house on July 19, her birthday. Before Fabian hit, Ms. Joell, who lives by herself, said she was at her house in the late afternoon, getting ready to read her books and her Bible. She went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, and then in an instant she heard crashing noises coming from behind her.

?I wondered why there was so much light all of a sudden and then I realised the bedroom wall had collapsed,? she said. ?Then the roof started to go so I decided it wasn?t worth staying there. I got out as quickly as possible.?

Ms Joell stayed with her next door neighbour who provided a place to stay until she was able to move in with a family member the next day.

The hurricane destroyed Ms Joell?s carpet and flooring and sucked her refrigerator and other personal items out of the house. Today, flooring and the house?s interior are still being repaired after they were also destroyed in Fabian?s high winds.

Ms Joell said she was shocked with the scenes of destruction around her, but she recovered quickly with the assistance of family members, including her son Milton and her brother Raymond.

A supervisor at People?s Pharmacy, Ms Joell credits her cheerful nature and strong attitude with helping her to pull through the past year.

?When it first happened I used to cry but I thought everything happens for a reason, eventually I caught hold of myself and I realised that it wasn?t unfixable,? she said.

Despite her struggle to repair her home and an increase in stress in the months following Fabian she continued to help other people through the Hamilton Kiwanis Club, a charity.

?I?ve had a good year, people at the Kiwanis Club have really helped me to pull through and to keep me busy,? she said. ?There were a lot of people affected, I thought I didn?t have many problems compared to them. I?m a strong person and that helped me to pull through the year. I felt it could have been worse.?