My wife Noemi and I live in Bonita Springs and own a small house in East Naples (near the Naples airport and the Gordon River) where our son Jason lives. On Wednesday afternoon as Hurricane Ian was swirling in, he called to let me know that he had at least an inch of water in his house and that the water was rising as the storm surge came up Naples Bay and the Gordon River.
In our elevated pickup truck, Noemi and I headed out to pick him up and bring him back to our home. Jason called again as we traveled south through the wind and rain on Livingston Road; the water was now above his knees. When we got to the road leading to his house, we found it completely flooded and couldn’t accurately tell its depth. After backtracking and trying various routes, we finally found a street that wasn’t totally flooded so we could get closer to Jason. Although we had borrowed a kayak and had it with us, the wind made it impossible to maneuver. Jason had to set out on foot, and standing in 3-foot water, he waved us down and waded toward us.
The day after the storm, Jason and I quickly got to work. We removed flood-damaged flooring, drywall, organic debris, etc., from the Naples home. Thankfully, unlike five years ago during Hurricane Irma, we did not experience wind or flood damage at our Bonita Springs house. Both our insurance company and FEMA have been very helpful, already beginning the restoration process. We have so much to be thankful for, and we will never forget our memorable rescue trip in the middle of the storm. We prayed hard that day and are sure that God protected us through it all!
by Office Manager Ed Gonzalez
