A Rescue We Never Thought We'd Need!

I am a single mom of 3. My mom lives with us along with our 4 dogs, 1 cat and a tortoise. Our home we live in is the same home my mom grew up in. It has never once flooded, not even during the past terrible floods, like Tropical Storm Allison and others. We've seen the homes at the end of our street be completely under and the flood waters never even come close to our house in the past. We didn't have flood insurance, because we never thought we would ever need it. When Harvey was coming we honestly were more saddened knowing the likelihood that our neighbors down our street would flood. It rained so hard and for so many straight hours, I had never seen so much rain so quickly. It felt almost biblical! We didn't put our things up high. We didn't pack any bags. We didn't relocate our cars. We thought we were going to be fine. Next thing we know the water is creeping towards the front porch. We are still in denial at this point. Our house was built in the mid 60's and never flooded, we were going to be fine just like every other time. The the water began lapping at the front door. We could hear the eerie sounds of air boats rescuing families in our neighborhood and surrounding blocks. I realized that we had to admit defeat and leave our home. My next worry was our pets. I would not leave without them. I couldn't! They are a part of our family. So I began to break down feeling panicked that our rescuers may not let us take them and I simply couldn't leave without them. Thankfully it was a neighbor from down the street who rescued us and we were able to take all of our precious furry friends with us. We waded waist deep in water to the boat in our front yard carrying a small backpack each with the most important things we would need, leaving all the rest behind. We never thought this would happen to us. We thankfully had family to stay with, but lived crammed in a very small house with us 5 plus our 3 family members and our pets and their dog. We never thought we'd be staying there for almost a year. We've been back home for barely 4 months now. It's not completely finished. We relied solely on help from fellow church members and ourselves to rebuild the inside of our home. We had no insurance. Since the home is in my grandmother's name and she doesn't live there we could not get rebuilding assistance from FEMA. We were on our own. We lost about 80% of everything we owned. The hardest part? Wasn't losing so many material things, but being out of our home for so long. Feeling like we were homeless and a burden to others for so long. Even when you have a place to stay with family, you never really feel like you have a home, because it's not your home, it's not your space and you are encroaching on others and their space. You feel like invaders. Family that you normally get along with you now have moments of clashing because quarters are tight and personal space and finances are limited. All you can think about is how much you took for granted having your own space, your own bed, your own way of living. I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. We were so blessed to have made some beautiful friends through this who have helped us more than we could ever thank them enough for. We are so grateful to be home and while we're don't have much in terms of material possessions, you cannot measure the value of your own personal space and home, it is immeasurable! A year later and we are still struggling from the domino of hardships that Harvey brought upon us. We are battered and struggling to get above the invisible waves of financial struggle we have. But we are HOME! We are ALIVE! We SURVIVED! I pray we never see a flood like Harvey in our lifetime and many lifetimes to come! We saw our community come together in a way we've never seen. We saw teens by the hundreds volunteer their time to help us remove our wet and soggy things from our homes. We saw folks we've never met drive up and down the streets with hot meals and cold waters to pass out to those cleaning up and tearing out walls and debris. We've seen how strong we really are. What we can survive. While I hope are ability to cope and survive such a great disaster is never tested again at this magnitude, I feel stronger because I know I am much stronger than I ever thought I could be. I continue to think about those even less fortunate that we were. Those who maybe lost a loved one. Those whose pets died in the flood. Those who had no volunteers to help them. Those who are still not back in their homes. May God be with them and bring them the blessings they need to get through this long and painful journey. May God bless those who helped those in need and continue to and open their homes and hearts and prayers for those still trying to heal from this terrible storm.

Carol W.

A Rescue We Never Thought We'd Need!

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2018-08-14

2018-08-14

2018-08-15

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