Britney Nelson asked if there is a larger word than “thank-you.

“I don’t know if there is, but I’d like to find it,” she said, sitting on her new couch, just one of the many items generous valley folk supplied the single mom and her boy.

“I am just overwhelmed because it meant so much that the community pulled together for us like this.”

Nelson, 27, suffered a run of particularly bad luck the past few months, as documented in a May edition of the News Leader Pictorial.

Unfortunate things kept happening, such as a bug bite that infected her leg and affected her heart, losing her baby in the womb and having to flee a bad relationship.

The latest calamity happened April 30 when a fire at the old Pacific Energy building on Ball Road, just off Fisher Road, destroyed all her belongings.

Virtually everything Nelson owned in a rented storage unit in the building was lost in the multi-million-dollar blaze, including irreplaceable photos and other memorabilia of her son, Jaden.

A lot has changed in the past few weeks, including moving into a new apartment and having it almost completely furnished by donations.

“Sleep Country Canada gave beds to me and Jaden and my mom’s work got involved, so a big thank-you to the people at WorkSafe B.C.,” she said.

Others Britney wanted to thank include Cowichan Valley Freecycle — which was instrumental in providing kitchenwares, linen and furniture, said Tansor Elementary School parent Allison Rimmer —Home Hardware Building Centre and Volume One Bookstore for their generous donations.

Tansor’s Parent Advisory Council was also instrumental in helping the Nelsons.

“Tansor (where Jaden goes to school) is an incredible community because when someone is in trouble, they’re there,” said Nelson.

“Everybody seemed to pull together and help us — really, there are no words to say how much we want to thank everyone.”