C.J. Braden • 4 Minute Read
Our Hurricane Ian Story Part 5
We are posting videos of our home and Sanibel post Hurricane via our TikTok account @carolynjbraden Follow our visual story there by clicking here.
This is our part five of our very long experience in dealing with Hurricane Ian and it's aftermath. In this part, we are getting back to our home on Sanibel Island home soon and this ongoing story describes our insurance process, working with FEMA, working with a public adjuster (and firing him), hiring lawyers, our RV experience and more. Read on to learn how we've dealt with this life altering situation in a positive and hopeful way.
For those that would like to hear/see our story, we’ve included our weekly video VLOGS as well.
Carolyn and Tommy Braden going back home after Hurricane Ian
Weeks 15 and 16: January 6-20th, 2023
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Weeks 15 and 16
We began our journey back to Sanibel after our 15-week stay in Indiana with Tommy’s parents after Hurricane Ian. After some tears and distanced hugs (Tommy’s mom got sick right before we left, so we played it safe as we have a long journey ahead of us!), we left on a Saturday and headed to our first stop, Nashville Tennessee, in our motor home.
There, we learned the furnace doesn’t work in our 1995 American Dream motor home. One thermostat smoked (we ripped it off immediately), the other blew a fuse, so a kind person at the KOA took Tommy to get electric space heaters so we didn’t have to unhook our car. It was only around 30 degrees, so heat was necessary. Testing the furnace and many things weren’t possible at Tommy’s parents as we needed a 50 amp. The generator stopped working too. 🤦♀️
Saying goodbye to my in-laws
We have electricity at the RV parks, and we had a 50 amp installed at our home, so it’ll be fine. We’ll fix it all when we get home. Yes, we have fire detectors and we got new Carbon Monoxide tester. We still have Annie the Ark winterized and will keep it that way until we get where it’s warmer in Birmingham Alabama, which is our next stop. The Nashville KOA campground shower was strangely COLD (I tried each stall and they were all cold even after running the water forever!) but I just felt I needed one after a long day.
Johnny Cash, our Miniature American Eskimo, marked the motor home already and our Dyson vacuum button broke (Tommy will fix it at home…we’ll do a Walmart run in Alabama for a cheap substitute as you need a vacuum with 4 long-haired fur babies!). But, we are all doing well still! Things in life, no matter how much you plan, don’t always work out the way you want, but God knows what you need.
Adding color to Annie the Ark’s rv bedroom
We had numerous calls, prayers, texts and positive vibes sent to us via family and friends and that helps tremendously! We know our issues are common in the RV world and all will be okay. We pray for so many right now and our hearts are warm knowing your thoughts are with us too!
Tommy concentrating driving our RV
. . .
We stopped in Birmingham Alabama for two days to visit my cousin and her family, then traveled to, Forsythe Georgia and Ocala Florida. During this time, I had something interesting happen…SHE’S RETURNED HOME!
Our pink pool float found it’s way home after 15 weeks
My pink float…it was a really nice foamy float…it was my only float that floated away when Ian flooded Sanibel. We put out a picture of it to our neighborhood Facebook group right after Tommy went to our home on Sanibel in October post hurricane and couldn’t find it.
Ross loves looking out the front window of our RV
Someone that owns the vacation rental across the street remembered our picture and their cleanup crew found it in their backyard under a bunch of debris on Saturday. They put it by our pool and took the second image. I know it’s just a float, but it was my favorite and it is still in good shape. Interesting find and right before we return home. God knew it’d make me happy and remain hopeful for a happy future (pink is a cheerful color!).
Our dogs traveling in our motor home
It made me think: Weird things, sad things, happy things happen…but God is always there. I’ve been VERY apprehensive to see our home when we return, but I believe this pink float/God is telling me it will all be okay. Our pool is currently still a mess, but beauty will return.
Next stop: SANIBEL!
. . .
Our Annie the Ark parked in our Sanibel driveway
We left Sanibel on September 28, 2022 at 12:30 am. Then Hurricane Ian hit just hours later. Here we are, 16 weeks later, finally returning home after a stay with Tommy’s parents in Indiana. But our journey is far from over. With hiring lawyers to help us (we still have no money from insurance or FEMA to fix our house and we let our public adjuster go), we are hoping things can start to move forward soon so we can put our house back together.
Holding one of my random Hurricane Ian finds
The Ocala luxury RV park was new, very nice and quiet (but no free warm cookies like the KOA in Georgia!). Tommy got our motor home washing machine running and it worked great to wash a few necessary items. It has a tiny leak at the connections, but he’ll fix it at home. Annie the Ark’s (our motor home) hot water heater stopped heating yesterday at some point, but we figured out that our dog’s crate leaned against a switch and turned it off. You live, you learn.
Carolyn and Tommy Braden at the Ocala Luxury RV park
So much “figuring out” does get to us some days, but we are thankful to have each other and the support, positive thinking, and prayers of so many. We cry sometimes (I had a good cry last night as I felt some anxiety take over my brain), but laugh often. I have to see the humor in our lives right now…it’s definitely a story I didn’t think I’d ever have to tell, but it’s made me realize how much strength and tenacity we have. May our strength and tenacity become yours if you ever feel weak. “We’re only human…🎶”
. . .
We made it back to Sanibel on Friday, January 20th, 2023.
Give God a chance to help...wait three days."
Monica our Maine Coon traveled well in the RV
This quote I read in the summer of 2022 made complete sense to me. I do always feel better after 3 days of being sad, worried, overwhelmed or perplexed about something. Little did I know how that quote would ring true after being on Sanibel Island for the first time after Hurricane Ian. At first, I was fine. Annie the Ark got us home safely…yay!
I’m trying to see the happy side of Hurricane Ian
The destruction is definitely looking better after 4 months according to Tommy who saw it in-person within a month of the hurricane, but I still felt so much sadness on this little island. We both cried on and off the last couple of days, and now we’re in problem solving mode.
A note I wrote to my husband years before Hurricane Ian hit Sanibel, found in our yard
Our yard is a mess, our pool is a mess, but the house interior makes me understand this house is a TANK! Between the builder’s extra efforts in 1978 to build a safe home for his son and the prayers and positive vibes of so many and God…it’s just amazing.
My house survived and that’s amazing
Yes, there is some water damage to the interior, we need a new roof and siding, the house shifted and there is a horizontal crack across the office wall, but it still is (now) livable and clean!
I was proud of myself for how clean I kept it. While we still wait on insurance money for fixes, we bought 4 in room A/C units to cool it off and circulate air (as our main units must be replaced).
Driving along the temporarily repaired Sanibel Island Causeway
We’ve immediately began cleaning the yard and I found a random butterfly stencil with a smiley face sticker on it. The sticker matches my house sign and butterflies represent change, which we are definitely experiencing. Tommy found a note I wrote to him years ago. My own words of “Don’t forget the little things” help now.
We will have little wins every day, which will add up to something great. I know it in my heart. The sunset is still gorgeous here, my $5 IKEA curtains saved my pool weight and my pink pool float came home last week. It truly is the little things!
Your kind words, my fur babies, and having an amazing husband (Tommy cleaned out our fridge so Lowe’s would take it when we got a new one….oh…the things he saw after we had left food in it and the power wasn’t turned back on for over a month…ewwww!) are so helpful.
Weeks 17 and 18: January 21st, 2023- February 4th, 2023
Our Hurricane Ian YouTube video VLOG: Week 17 and 18 via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden
Trash island….
We are doing our best to try to make Sanibel go back to being a sanctuary island instead of trash island. I have to call it like it is because trash is EVERYWHERE.
Picking up trash on Sanibel in 2023
We’ve been picking up trash and debris along our walks. The road leading to our neighborhood is so much better than most of the island, but it’s still messy.
Cleaning our Sanibel house will take a long while
The trash collection people do a good job, but sometimes the wind blows it before it gets picked up. We keep finding insulation, empty water bottles, shingles and so much more. Luckily the pathway is clean for walkers and bikers.
Hurricane Ian ripped off our fan blades
We take bags and our “grabbers” and clean up what we can. The same trash just kept lying around day after day and I decided it was time to take action. I hope others decide to follow. We are still working hard to clean our property and home too.
Our backyard that was once lush and green
I know organized beach cleanup is happening, but the school grounds needs work as the students return next week, all neighborhoods need cleaning and parking lots of buildings that will be plowed down at some point sit with trash all over them. I know I can’t do it all, but I’ll do what I can.
Pressure washing away the muck and mud from Hurricane Ian flooding
A visit to the temporary FEMA facilities on island was interesting. It’s all very surreal. We are still waiting on FEMA assistance (to help with what insurance doesn’t cover) which is supposed to be provided to all affected by a disaster. We are not the only ones waiting…there are TONS of people in the exact same limbo.
The temporary FEMA tent on Sanibel Island
We received a small amount of money from our flood insurance. Our deductible was $10,000 on flood, so the amount we received was minimal. We took out the SBA loan (Small Business Administration via FEMA) after clearing the wording with our lawyers and with our SBA loan counselor. We only took out a small amount, enough to get our A/C units replaced and to get our pool cleaned. As of right now, a SBA loan is offered to home owners and is zero payment for a year and a very low interest rate.
Our floors warped from Hurricane Ian and we cannot close our attic door
We met with our realtor and we do plan to sell our house at some point in 2023. We will pay off our SBA loan at that time. Our realtor told us what to try to get fixed before selling, and the market does still look incredibly promising. People (and investment groups) are still buying up properties left and right on Sanibel. We have faith it will continue to be a great vacation destination for others, we just do not want to live here full-time anymore. The hurricane seemed mild compared to the insurance nightmare that followed.
We have in-room A/C units cooling our home until insurance comes through
We find interesting things during our trash collections though…peace movement game cards, letters written in Italian, art supplies and more.
Hope blooming in my great grandmother’s mint resurfaced after Ian
One great thing: my great grandmother’s mint is blooming again. Tommy made a cutting when he came in October and I rooted it just in case it didn’t come back. But it did and that’s quite amazing!
As an artist, I’m seeing beauty in the hurricane destruction
We know that it will take years for Sanibel and all the areas affected by Hurricane Ian to recover and Tommy and I will do our part until our next life chapter begins.
While you wait for our next update, enjoy this cool DIY project we created: How to Make a Driftwood and Rope Pendant Light
For our full Hurricane Ian story:
Click here for Part One of our Hurricane Ian story, which tells about our experience in weeks 1-6.
Click here for part two of our Hurricane Ian Story, which tells about our experience in weeks 7-8.
Click here for part three of our story in week 9-10.
Click here for part four of our story in weeks 11-14.
Click here for part 5 of our story in weeks 15-18.
C.J. (Carolyn) Braden is a regular contributor and editor for Carolyn’s Blooming Creations. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.