Hurricane Ian came violently bearing down on their Florida home

• The evacuation was not an option for Renee Smith and her cancer-stricken, crippled husband Christopher as Hurricane Ian slammed into their Florida home.
• Smith had no other option than to use drastic means to keep her husband safe.
• Suzie Mack, a resident of Fort Myers, told the BBC that during the hurricane, the water rose as high as 8 feet in her brother’s mobile home park.

The evacuation was not an option for Renee Smith and her cancer-stricken, crippled husband Christopher as Hurricane Ian slammed into their Florida home.

She claimed that in order to relocate Christopher, who was paralyzed days before the hurricane as a result of prostate cancer spreading to his spine, it would have taken an ambulance, a stretcher, and three grown men. It was terrible and I had no control.

Mrs. Smith had no other option than to use drastic means to keep her husband safe. In an effort to keep him dry, she attached a tarpaulin to his hospital bed with wire ties and gaffer tape. She also used his wheelchair to block the front door from the 150 mph (241 km/h) winds.

She worried that even it might not have been sufficient.

She informed the media from her home in Punta Gorda, one of the Gulf Coast cities hardest impacted by the category four storm, that she stayed since she was his carer. “I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him while putting a life jacket around his neck.”

In Mrs. Smith’s situation, the hurricane’s violent winds posed the greatest threat. A strong storm surge struck a lot of other people.

Suzie Mack, a resident of Fort Myers, told the BBC that during the hurricane, the water rose as high as 8 feet in her brother’s mobile home park.

Because it was too late to go, they climbed into their air mattresses inside their homes, where by the time the surge reached its apex, there was only approximately a foot of air left. Although nobody perished there, the tale was horrifying to hear.

Not everybody was as fortunate. According to the local sheriff, 35 deaths have so far been documented in Florida’s Lee County; this sombre total is still expected to climb.

Some Floridians have faced criticism after Ian for disobeying numerous orders to evacuate and warnings. However, logistical and financial difficulties made staying the only choice for thousands of other families, including the Smiths, for whom leaving was not an option. Others were merely unfortunate trap victims.

For instance, a woman named Melodye ran away from her house in the Tampa Bay region and ended herself in Fort Myers. It was too late for her to depart when it became apparent that Ian’s route had changed to the south.

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