ProbarGOLD- Free

A FLOOD OF EMOTIONS

Reader's Digest India|March 2023
Trapped by a hurricane and rising waters, a devoted sister struggles to save her disabled brothers
- Corina Knoll
A FLOOD OF EMOTIONS

When the water slipped in under the door of their home in Naples, Florida, it was just a glimmer the floor, a sign that it was time to go.

It was around noon on Wednesday, 28 September last year, and Darcy Bishop roused her two brothers who had been resting after lunch. She pulled the wheelchair up to the oldest, Russell Rochow, 66, and heaved him into it before slipping his feet into black Velcro shoes.

Her other brother, Todd Rochow, 63, was in his room, changing out of pyjamas. He could manage with a walker.

Both men had been born with cerebral palsy, and their mental development was like that of a young child. About 10 years ago, they started showing signs of Parkinson's disease. But they found joy in their surroundings. Russell loved riding the bus and going to parks. Todd liked collecting cans at the beach and waiting for the mail carrier. And both had girlfriends. Bishop, 61, was their lifeline, their little sister who had long felt an obligation to keep them safe.

"We've got to get going!" she shouted to Todd. She went to open the front door. It would not budge. The weight of the water on the other side had cemented it shut.

She rushed to try the door to the garage, where Todd's walker was stored. It, too, was stuck.

That's when the house the three siblings shared with their parents began to flood. "It went from ankle-deep to knee-deep in less than five minutes," Bishop said. "I just knew that there was no way out."

As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida, many residents who decided to stay found themselves unable to leave if they tried. For hours they were forced to fight heavy winds and attempt to escape flooding inside long-loved homes that had become frightening, deadly traps. Within days, around 100 deaths in the state would be attributed to the hurricane, many of them older residents who drowned.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Reader's Digest India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,500 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Reader's Digest India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,500 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE READER'S DIGEST INDIAVer todo
DELETE YOUR INTERNET FOOTPRINT
Reader's Digest India

DELETE YOUR INTERNET FOOTPRINT

With spies lurking everywhere, how can you keep yourself safe? Try these 25 smart steps.

time-read
10 minutos  |
June 2025
Have You Herd?
Reader's Digest India

Have You Herd?

A World of GOOD REASONS TO SMILE

time-read
1 min  |
June 2025
POINT TO PONDER
Reader's Digest India

POINT TO PONDER

P. V. Sindhu, FORMER BADMINTON WORLD CHAMPION, IN HER SPEECH AT THE 16TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY AT FLAME UNIVERSITY

time-read
1 min  |
June 2025
24,000 FEET AND FALLING
Reader's Digest India

24,000 FEET AND FALLING

CAUGHT IN A VIOLENT STORM CLOUD, THE PARAGLIDER WAS PUSHED HIGH INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
June 2025
Speechless City by Gulammohammed Sheikh, (1975) 122 cm x 122 cm, Oil on Canvas
Reader's Digest India

Speechless City by Gulammohammed Sheikh, (1975) 122 cm x 122 cm, Oil on Canvas

The painter, poet and critic Gulammohammed Sheikh (born 1937) is one of the leading lights of Indian modern art.

time-read
1 min  |
June 2025
Escape into Exile
Reader's Digest India

Escape into Exile

A perilous journey, a nation's heartbreak— the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet unfolds in his own unforgettable words

time-read
7 minutos  |
June 2025
LAUGHTER THE BEST Medicine
Reader's Digest India

LAUGHTER THE BEST Medicine

There Is A Special Place

time-read
2 minutos  |
June 2025
ON THEIR OWN TWO FEET
Reader's Digest India

ON THEIR OWN TWO FEET

Lymphatic filariasis, a much misunderstood and widespread tropical disease is finally coming under control thanks to the efforts of past victims of the illness who are spreading awareness in their communities

time-read
6 minutos  |
June 2025
LISTEN To The Rush
Reader's Digest India

LISTEN To The Rush

When Toni Marks casts his fishing line out into the moving waters of the remote rivers of New Zealand in search of wild trout, his attention is fixed firmly on the sounds of nature

time-read
5 minutos  |
June 2025
LIFE'S Like That
Reader's Digest India

LIFE'S Like That

My mother-in-law loves to lecture me on the state of my house—as if I don't live with someone that she raised.

time-read
1 min  |
June 2025

Usamos cookies para proporcionar y mejorar nuestros servicios. Al usan nuestro sitio aceptas el uso de cookies. Learn more