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Kewanee man on the road to recovery after home explosion

Edd Bickers says he is finally healing after the home explosion that almost took his life.

KEWANEE, Illinois - It's been almost five months since the gas explosion that destroyed a home.

Tomorrow brings a new day and for Edd Bickers, every day is something to be thankful for.

"I look at the trees and the birds, listen to them. To think that all that could have been lost," said Bickers.

Bickers is on the road to recovery, he says it's a miracle he's alive to tell his story.

"Something got me out the front door. If that's not a miracle of God or his guardian angel, I have no idea what else it would be. It sure wasn`t the devil, Bicker Laughs.

Back in January 2017, a gas leak caused his house to explode, Bicker escaped before the house collapsed, "I started crawling through fire, everything I grabbed was fire."

For six weeks he was hospitalized at the Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois for his burns.

Bickers say most of his burns are healed now and he's in the process of looking for a new home.

"I know I don`t want to have a lot of gas in my house anymore," Bicker laughs, "All electric."

Throughout it all, he says it's been his community that's helped him get through it. They've raised thousands of dollars for Bickers.

"It was very overwhelming to have all them people that actually cared show up and try to do anything they could to help you," said Bickers.

Despite all he's lost, Bickers considers himself lucky, because if anyone knows how precious life is, it's him, "I`m so thankful to be here."

The worse burns on Bicker's body are his hands. Bickers says it could take two years for his hands to completely heal.

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