Early this month, Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Florida, and is responsible for taking at least 100 people’s lives. But in a stroke of good luck , good news , and no small amount of determination , one man was able to save a life during the hurricane’s aftereffects.
Johnny Lauder, 49, managed to swim to his mother’s house and save her , as most of her house ended up flooding.
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Johnny says his mother refused to evacuate.
Karen Lauder, 84 and a double amputee, told her son “You’d have to pull me out kicking and screaming,” he told People . But that changed when the flooding began to reach her bellybutton, and Johnny did whatever he could to get her to safety.
He left his family in the attic of his house.
His sons, the girlfriend of one of his sons, and several family pets, including a cat and a bird, were left in the attic with some food and supplies, as well as “a way to chop through the roof if things got really bad.” Then, Johnny jumped out the window of his own home to get to his mother’s.
Johnny swam in the flood to reach Karen.
Despite that being one thing you’re told not to do, Johnny once worked as a rescue diver, and didn’t hesitate to brave the water. Luckily, he only lived a few blocks away from Karen.
Still, he had to swim half a mile against the current to reach Karen’s house.
“I knew the risk, I knew the dangers — I could be hit by debris, I could be taken under, slammed against something, but there’s no time to think you just do ,” he told People .
As he swam, Johnny would frequently stop to snap a picture to send to the family.
This was his way of making sure his family knew he was alright. “My wife, the family in Miami, and my kids in the attic, everybody wanted to know if I was okay.”
When he finally made it, the water levels in his mother’s house were already much higher.
It took Johnny about 40 minutes to swim to Karen’s house, and by the time he got there the water was already up to her chin. He managed to take a picture of her to let the family know she was still okay.
“If it would’ve been 20 minutes later, she wouldn’t be here,” Johnny said.
He managed to get some dry sheets to help warm Karen, whom he feared may have been suffering from hypothermia. He wheeled Karen to safety, and managed to help another elderly woman he saw on the way out of the neighborhood.
They got to a hotel, but were turned away because it was full.
So Johnny and his mother swam to his son’s house, which was thankfully only minimally damaged by flood waters.
Karen ended up being okay, but has since been admitted to hospital for treatment against potential infections.
Both Karen and Johnny lost their homes in the flooding.
“I might have lost my home, my things, but I didn’t lose family, I didn’t lose my job. I didn’t lose hope,” he said. “Life is like a computer, there’s two buttons: There’s a reset and a power — and thank God it was just a reset button that got hit and not the power.”
The family started a GoFundMe to help them get on their feet.
Some of their family from Miami started the fundraiser in order to help the Lauders with housing. As of the time of writing this, they’ve raised over $23,000.
If you’re interested in helping Johnny, Karen, and the rest of their family, you can check out the page here .
