- October 19, 2022
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Ashlee Middleton had no idea evacuating from her home near Siesta Drive in Sarasota and sheltering at her parents’ house in Myakka City during Hurricane Ian would lead to the most stressful 12 hours of her life.
She didn’t know Hurricane Ian had its eye on the home of Rose and Clyde Alstrom on River Road.
Middleton and her husband, Ken Middleton, were able to finally get their children, 2-year-old Brooke and 4-year-old Liam, to sleep. She was feeling good about her decision to shelter in Myakka City because her parents had a generator and were far from the coast. Her uncle, Myakka City’s Brian Alstrom, also had joined them to ride out the storm.
Power was crucial to the Middletons because Brooke Middleton has cystic fibrosis and needed power to do physical therapy twice per day.
Middleton began getting nervous, though, as she heard parts of the aluminum roof being pulled from the home as the winds picked up. The children were awake again and they all moved to a bathroom where she distracted them with videos on her phone.
“As a parent, it was very terrifying, but I knew my dad said we were safe, and it wasn’t the actual roof coming off but the top portion,” Middleton said.
Middleton still decided to check things out and looked outside. Water from the overflowing Myakka River had come up to the barn, which was behind the house.
“My dad said, ‘It’s never flooded here. We’re not in a flood zone,’” Middleton said.
They all tried to get some sleep.
Middleton just couldn’t sleep. She looked outside toward the barn once again. In the barn’s faint lights, she could see the glistening water, which was surrounding her brother Billy Alstrom’s truck tires. She knew the water was getting close to the house. She woke up her father and brother.
All of her brother’s belongings were in the home and his truck because he lived on Cortez Road by the bridge to Bradenton Beach. He also thought evacuating to Myakka City would be a good idea.
Rose Alstrom, who was on vacation in North Carolina, received a call from Ashlee Middleton saying the house was surrounded by water.
“I was nervous,” Rose Alstrom said. “I started making calls to everybody we could think of. We called three fire rescues. I put a post on Myakka City 411 (on Facebook) for any local people with airboats, but the winds were still really strong.”
Panther Ridge’s Tiffany Sisk, who had never met the Alstroms or Middletons before, saw Alstrom’s post on Facebook and commented, “I don’t have a boat, but I’ve got a big truck, and I’m on my way.”
“I have my EMT license, so it was kind of an automatic response,” Sisk said. “If people are in need, I’m going to go.”
Middleton said she could tell her father was stressed.
“I said to him, ‘I’m getting scared, the water’s coming up a lot faster, isn’t it?,’” she said. “He was like, ‘Yes, Ashlee.’”
Middleton knew her family shouldn’t wade through the water because no one knew if there were down power lines or even alligators.
The Alstroms decided to move all the vehicles to River Road, which was higher ground. They knew it was a risk, but without their vehicles and not knowing when someone could help them, they didn’t know how they would make it out.
Meanwhile, Sisk ran into Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies in the field, who had boats and were trying to make their way to the family. They were having trouble because of downed trees and power lines.
Sisk called Cody Duncan from Cody’s Tree and Debris to get a bulldozer. With his help, they slowly made their way down River Road.
Her father, brother, uncle and husband were all outside as the water continued to approach the home. Deputies had contacted them by phone and told her to dress her children in bright clothing and write her name and Social Security number on everyone.
“That’s when I started to get very panicked,” she said. “It was scary. We had nothing there that I knew of at the time to float. The generator went out so the kids and I were in total darkness. When I saw the cows and how deep they were in the water, I got really upset because I was afraid we were going to watch them drown.”
Middleton was relieved to see Clyde Alstrom in his giant truck making his way through deep water toward the home. They all piled into the truck.
“The water was so deep it was coming in through all the doors of the truck,” Middleton said.
But they reached River Road, and they saw Manatee County Search and Rescue was finally able to make it to them along with deputies.
“We probably did things we should not have done to get out,” Middleton said. “But there’s a sense of peace that comes from seeing four Sheriff’s Office trucks, a boat and others. I’m so thankful.”
Although the Middleton family was safe in Middleton’s SUV, the obstacles just kept coming.
They started making their way down toward Fruitville Road when they saw a huge tree blocking the road with power lines surrounding it. They decided to turn back and try State Road 70. Unfortunately, they came to a bridge that was completely submerged and cars were stalling out as they tried to make it across. But their vehicle made it through.
“That was another one of those terrifying moments because we didn’t know where we were going to be safe outside of our car,” Middleton said. “Fortunately, we made it through that area.”
The Middletons eventually found their home was without power and their water was on a boil advisory, so they decided to stay with Ashlee Middleton’s grandmother, who lives in Sarasota and had power and internet.
Clyde Alstrom went home with Billy Alstrom to find Billy’s house on Cortez was not impacted by the storm.
Clyde Alstrom and Ken Middleton were able to go back to the Alstrom home in Myakka and found the water had stopped on the porch of the one-story ranch. The barn was flooded, but the home was OK.
Middleton said she has peace now that she and her family are safe after two days that were mentally and physically exhausting.
“I’m thankful for where we are now,” she said. “Going outside, it just seems like an average day. It just makes it seem like the experience was almost not real. It’s something I’ll definitely never, ever forget.”
