10/10/2026
CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OPEN AND TEN YEARS SINCE THE FLOOD!!!!!
Ultimately, we are so blessed. Our little family has come so far. Your today is not your forever.
It ALWAYS seems impossible until it is done.
Whatever it is you’re facing … just keep going. ❤️
2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana - The Great flood.
We were rescued by the National Guard from our flooded apartment and taken to a humvee for hours as we waited on transportation to a shelter.
Things I will never forget:
The National Guardsmen who rescued our family was instructed by his higher-ups not to even come back to our neighborhood. When his John boat pulled up on our flooded apartment, he immediately began taking pictures of my baby (Theodore), my pregnant self and my Grandma to send to his superiors as proof that families back there needed help.
I’ll never forget as we loaded up into that John boat with no lifejackets, my grandma, her dog, my baby, my husband, me, and our cat in a pet taxi. We had my son’s formula and some diapers in a black trash bag. That was it. The whole boat ride to safety we were taking on water and the fellow guardsman was scooping water out of the bottom of the boat with a Tupperware bowl.
I looked all around me and all I could see was waves of flood water washing over the Apex of every house on our street. Cell towers were down. There was no way to communicate with anyone. First responders and volunteers used school buses to transport hundreds of us to HUGE open buildings. I didn’t even know they existed and I found out later those buildings were previously used as filming studios in BR!
I remember when we first walked into the shelter it was empty. It wasn’t really chaotic because everyone was so shocked and sad. The only differentiating factor at the moment was if you had an animal with you or not to determine what side of the building you should sit.
We had our dog on a leash and cat in a pet taxi so we walked over to the side of the building where people had animals. I remember seeing some people completely soaked their clothes dripping with flood water. I was so thankful even in that moment that we were mostly dry. We found an area to sit on the floor. There were no cots. No chairs. No blankets. There was nothing! But!!! We were on DRY land. There was a sturdy roof!!!! and we had electricity!!!
There was also a restroom and I remember very vividly. A very long line…. I’m talking probably 30 women standing in line for the women’s restroom. Traumatized, shivering, soaking wet… There was not a single man standing in line for the men’s restroom because the men were moving a little quicker. It felt silly to stand in line after losing everything that I owned. So I walked into the men’s restroom and handled my business. I got a couple stares and I remember saying something along the lines of ….none of us have anything right now. What’s a social norm? LOL!
Cell phone towers were down. AT&T had no service at all, which is what my entire family used. There was one sheriff in our shelter who had a Verizon cell phone. He had a line of people asking to use his phone and he let every single one of us call our family. I called my uncle in Port Barre. As soon as he heard my voice, he knew it was serious and I believe within an hour he was there to pick us up.
We spent the next few weeks of our life in limbo displaced, living with family waiting to hear back about our apartment. Once we heard that our apartment was filled with mold and we would not be allowed to move back in Troy and I had hard conversations about what the next 5 to 10 years of our life could possibly look like. I had graduated high school from Roxana, Illinois and I knew this area was a nice slice of America where you could successfully raise a couple kids.
So we came here. ❤️
As soon as we got to town we went to Quick Trip in Bethalto. An older man pulled up next to us at the stoplight on 111. I guess he saw our license plate and our loaded down car. He rolled down his window and asked if we were here from the flood. We said yes sir.. and it was like he was an angel the way he told us that we would be OK to keep our heads up. The light changed. We took our left turn. He went straight. I wish I knew who he was ❤️
We arrived in Illinois with a $1,200 check from FEMA. Taco Bell had given Troy $500. I think Red Robin donated $300 to me. Our family and friends had donated around $1,000 as well. From September 2016 to October 2016 we stayed with my Mom until we were approved for our apartment at Twin Pines here in Alton. It took everything we had to make that deposit, plus first and last months rent. SHOUT OUT to the owner of Twin Pines — Mark for giving us a chance!!!!!! He knew we had nothing but I promised that man we would pay our rent on time and we did!!!
Looking back I don’t know how we did it all.
TRAUMA…. Lol. 😆
But I absolutely know WHY!
Once you have kids Biology tends to take control and you find yourself willing to flip the entire world over if it means providing for your children. ❤️
