WATERVILLE — Cliff Hannon remembers taking his dog, Millie, to the local country club for a run on Thanksgiving Day and putting her in the back seat of the car to return home.

“I don’t remember anything after that,” he said.

And he wouldn’t learn about what occurred until 7 1/2 weeks later, when he woke up in a Portland hospital.

Sometime after bringing his dog back to his Lakeview Drive home in Oakland, it exploded from a propane leak. The entire house was shattered, scattering debris around the neighborhood.

Hannon was in the back yard with Millie, an English shepherd. Oakland Rescue workers found him under debris from the house, critically injured and unconscious. Millie had run away.

Hannon’s body had been impaled in two places from debris, he said, and his left buttocks had a hole in it the size of a human fist.

He suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns over 50% of his body, his left leg below the knee and arm were broken and he lost hearing in his left ear, he said.

“They put a post through my arm into my shoulder because they had to take care of that immediately,” he said. “The impact hit that whole left side of my body. I was on dialysis for five weeks. My kidneys failed, my liver failed and they had to get them back going because my body was shutting down.”

Because he was facing away from the blast, his face was not injured.

“They said they rushed me to Thayer ER in Waterville and prepared me for LifeFlight, and LifeFlight took me to Portland (MaineHealth Maine Medical Center). All these emergency services — if they hadn’t done what they needed to do, I wouldn’t be here.”

The Office of State Fire Marshal determined a propane leak caused the explosion, but as of Friday, an exact source had not been identified.

Hannon said officials suspect it was from an old gas heater in his basement.

“They said they’ll never know for sure,” he said.

A positive thing emerged from the horrific event. Millie, Hannon’s dog, had been burned and injured in the explosion and is doing well, and Hannon hopes to see her briefly outside on a warm day expected next week.

“Some good Samaritans saw her wandering on Route 11. The dog was obviously in shock. They picked her up and took her to the animal hospital in Lewiston — people we don’t know. Then she was taken to Portland.”

A LONG RECOVERY

Hannon told his story Thursday from his room at Lakewood Health Center where he has been for 2 1/2 weeks after having spent 10 weeks at Maine Medical Center.

Sitting in a wheelchair, Hannon, 66, said he knows he is lucky to be alive and is grateful to everyone who has supported him.

“I’m convinced all the prayers helped, he said. “Everyone said, ‘We’re praying for you.’ It’s got to help. For me, it’s still a miracle. After 7 1/2 weeks, when I started remembering things, they told me my house had blown up. From day one, if somebody walked into my room, I cried. I was so emotional because I couldn’t believe they were there. I was so surprised to be alive.”

Hannon is well known and respected in the region for his work as a financial adviser and his volunteerism, including with the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, Alfond Youth & Community Center and Sunrise Rotary Club, of which he was president at the time of the explosion.

He was overwhelmed to learn hundreds of people attended a large fundraiser for him in January at Swish Indoor Golf in the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville while he was still unconscious. He cried when he watched a video of it later, he said. In it, individuals, couples and groups talked directly to the camera, saying they loved him and were praying for him and wishing him well.

People visit Hannon regularly at Lakewood, where he has learned to walk with a walker and has daily physical and occupational therapy sessions. Otherwise, he uses a wheelchair. He said he can’t believe the progress he has made. He’s been told he’ll remain there for six to eight weeks more but believes he will be out in 2 1/2 weeks.

He has learned to go to the bathroom by himself, a big goal when he arrived. He has difficulty getting out of bed and can’t bend over or reach for things except with a special tool, but each day, he improves, he said.

“I’ve been really trying to do therapy as hard as I can,” he said. “When they’ re not doing it with me, I try to do it myself. They give me things to do. The food’s good here, the people are good. I can’t complain about the care. I’m extremely lucky for the amazing providers and friends supporting me.”

‘GOD DIDN’T WANT ME YET’

Miracles abound.

Hannon’s wife, Dale, a retired Oakland teacher, was visiting a friend in Florida on Thanksgiving, and their son Gavin, a doctor of osteopathy, was on a cruise. They rushed home when they learned of the explosion, and Hannon’s sister came from Georgia.

“My wife is my hero,” he said. “She struggled all through this, everything from bills for the hospital and not getting the bills that were adjusted, dealing with the contents of the house, dealing with the insurance company to get the claims all done.”

He said he’s grateful for his son and son’s fiancée, a physician’s assistant; they have been supportive and attentive to all things medical.

“I would encourage anybody who goes through this to have an advocate that fights for them,” he said.

The Hannons lost everything and are working to try to remember every item in every closet, drawer, room and in the garage as part of insurance settlement needs. It is difficult.

When he gets out of rehab, the Hannons will stay with a friend who offered an in-law apartment, he said, until they can build a new home on the same site where they lived for 40 years. The new home will be smaller, on one level with a two-car garage and no stairs.

“I’ve already got a contractor lined up,” Hannon said. “We got lucky. He had a job that was canceled. It will be done by the end of the summer, possibly.”

He said he has no plans to use propane heat in his new home.

Despite the losses and his long recovery, Hannon is upbeat and optimistic. He credits his good health before the accident for helping him to survive. An avid golfer, he said walking the course regularly and carrying a golf bag were key.

Hannon anticipates eventually having a part-time job, maybe two days a week, and being even more involved with groups like the chamber and Rotary Club. He is selling his financial business in a week or so, he said.

“I’ve got a lot to look forward to,” he said. “I’m extremely fortunate. It’s a miracle that I’m alive, and I remember that every day, and know that means I’ve got work to do. God didn’t want me yet.”