Sixty-seven-year-old Donna Borusas died on Thursday after she was critically injured in a fireplace in her residence in Ottawa’s south finish.
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The siblings of an Ottawa girl who handed away following a home fireplace are in “deep shock,” remembering their sister as a compassionate particular person with a depraved sense of humour, an indomitable spirit and a profound love of cats.
Sixty-seven-year-old Donna Borusas died on Thursday after she was critically injured in a fireplace in her residence on Bowesville Street in Ottawa’s south finish.
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“I like to think about her combating for her household,” mentioned Borusas’s sister, Roma Thorlakson, via tears. “We had a dialogue lately the place we talked in regards to the battle or flight response. She mentioned: ‘I’ll at all times battle.’
“She was decided that she was going to place this [fire] out.”
Borusas raced downstairs with two massive tenting jugs of water to attempt to battle the blaze herself.
In the meantime, Borusas’ accomplice Michael Elliott, who has a synthetic leg and for whom she was serving as a caretaker, was capable of escape to the entrance door because of a neighbour carrying him out on their shoulder.
Elliot was nonetheless in hospital as of Friday in steady situation after affected by critical smoke inhalation.
The couple’s cat, Kevin, has not been seen for the reason that fireplace.
Borusas was a “loopy cat girl” as she dubbed herself in her Fb profile.
“She cherished cats her complete life, actually,” mentioned her brother, Alge Borusas. “Little porcelain cat figures, something to do with cats. Any Christmastime, you knew what to get her.”
She was first captivated with the household cat, Misuli, adopted by three cats throughout her maturity: Lucy, Lucy No. 2 and, most lately, Kevin.
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Her different ardour was serving to others.
Initially from Hamilton, Borusas moved to Ottawa within the late Nineteen Seventies with goals of turning into a nurse.
“She at all times cherished the medical subject, at all times labored in a hospital or in a physician’s workplace,” Thorlakson mentioned.
Borusas even met her accomplice within the ready room of a medical clinic about 18 years in the past.
“She began going to nursing faculty however she obtained kicked out, then she turned a nanny for a couple of years,” Alge mentioned. “Then she labored as a ward clerk for 10 years at Riverside Hospital.”
That have led her again to advancing her schooling and, in 2014, Borusas graduated from the personal profession faculty Everest School as a medical assistant.
After working a couple of jobs, Borusas turned the full-time caretaker for Elliott and moved into his home a couple of years in the past.
“She was dwelling her dream of caring for somebody,” Alge mentioned.
She was additionally beneficiant with each her cash and her time, identified for making ginger cookies generally known as “Lithuanian mushrooms” on the vacations and at all times knitting a sweater for every new member of the household.
“For a few years, Donna got here early to arrange the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner, and she or he actually cherished doing that,” mentioned Thorlakson. “My mom was getting older so she wanted extra assist, so Donna at all times got here a few days earlier than Christmas to get all of the meals prepared, be taught my mom’s recipes and assist her with that.”
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The group of siblings was collectively final week for a memorial service in Winnipeg, following the passing of Thorlakson’s husband. It was the primary time the siblings had all been collectively in about 4 years, Thorlakson mentioned.
They spent 5 days collectively round Manitoba, till Donna flew again residence.
Days later, Alge obtained a telephone name from Elliot within the hospital, who broke the information about Donna’s loss of life.
“It was a whole shock out of the blue,” Alge mentioned. “Out of the blue we’re collectively and all of the sudden we’re not.
“The world has misplaced a fantastic cat girl.”
The household is now engaged on planning Borusas’ memorial. The Workplace of the Hearth Marshal is investigating the fireplace.
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