Ice Storm 2009

It all started last Monday night. Our car was making a weird noise and so we had dropped it at the mechanics shop. He could not figure out what was wrong with it and so after Bruce got out of work we went to pick it up (if he had been able to diagnose it and started to work on it, it would still be locked in their garage today!) We heard that there might be some freezing rain the next day so Bruce headed home with the kids and I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things in case school was cancelled the next day. The parking lot was full, it was hard to find a buggy and I ended up spending longer in line then I did shopping. The locals are weather wimps compared to us Michiganders so I just figured they were panicking a little prematurely. About 3 AM the next morning, I woke up to the first branch falling. About every 10 minutes after that for the next 48 hours or so we heard the crack of wood breaking and the shatter of the iced limbs as they hit the ground. The Internet/cable/phone line went out about 9 am on Tuesday followed by the power at about 10:30 am. The cell phones went down at about 3 pm. Luckily, the Moms had made an IKEA stop before they last visited us and had brought us tons of taper and tea light candles along with 4 lanterns (we were going to use them on the porch.) While it was still light out I got together the mag light and a huge assortment of candles and matches strategically placed throughout the house. I had to add 2 layers of clothes to the kids as the day went on. Luckily, we have a gas fireplace in the living room so when Bruce got home we moved mattresses out in front of the fire. "It's a cold rain, a gonna fall." The damage to the trees got worse through the day and into the evening. I had bought the fixing's for a Moroccan feast so since I have a gas stove I decided to use up the ingredients and cook it by candlelight which, besides being so cold, was kind of fun. We ate our big dinner, loaded the perishables into coolers, washed the kids up and Bruce and I played a couple of hours of cards in front of the fireplace. We were ready to wake up to a new day when the power would be restored and we could go out and clean up the yard....little did we know that was just the beginning of our nightmare. Lucy had been fighting a cold for a few days and had been super cranky all day. As soon as we had started to fall asleep she woke up SCREAMING. She continued to scream, nurse and sleep in 20 minute increments all night long. I hardly slept a wink trying to give her what comfort I could. She was pulling on her ears and had a loud barking cough. Although neither of my children had ever had either, I recognized the symptoms and knew we had to get to a doctor.
Bruce woke up for work on Wednesday looked outside and realized that some huge limbs were blocking the driveway and there was no way to get the cars out without some major work. He jumped in the shower, I decided to jump in right after him and the water went ice cold on me. Turns out our basement had flooded, and with the sump pump not working the water had risen high enough to extinguish the pilot light on the water heater - we were officially out of hot water now. Bruce got suited up to walk the mile to work determined to find a way to get Lucy to a doctor safely. I fed Griffin what I could and tried to keep the kids warm. Bruce got back about an hour and half later with his boss, Tommy. Tommy had a pickup truck, so we all piled in (the only time my children have ever been in a car without a car seat!!) and headed back to the hospital. We went straight to the ER as by now the entire county was without power and this was the only way to see a Dr. Bruce took Griffin to his office to hang out (some co-workers had brought their kids there to warm up while they figured out what to do, so Griff had friends to play with.) Lucy was quickly diagnosed with a double ear infection and croup. They also gave her a chest x-ray and to every one's relief, pneumonia had not set in yet. They gave her 2 major shots in the thighs to get her started on antibiotics until we could get the medicine. While we were there my sister Alexis got a hold of us and so we were able to spread the news to family that we were surviving as well as possible. We learned from hospital staff that the storm was more severe than anyone could imagine and it could be weeks before power would be restored to the whole county.
The next issue was figuring out how to get home (icy branches were still falling from the trees, and the temperatures were very low making it impossible to walk the mile home with Lucy and Tommy had already left to help out someone else.) and how to get Lucy's prescription filled. We did not have much cash so a co-worker loaned Bruce a twenty for the medicine since all computers were down (not able to use a card and no bank working.) Another co-worker volunteered her husband, Terry, to help us. He had a little truck so he drove Lucy and I home first and then returned to get Bruce and Griffin. We had heard that the Walgreen's was open with generators so they headed there. Bruce dropped off the prescription and they told him it would take an hour to fill. Terry was nice enough to offer to drive Bruce home and come back in an hour to pick it up (you can't even imagine how bad the roads were at this point and with no gas available in the county this was such an amazing thing he was doing for us.) We decided to fry up all the chicken I had in the fridge/freezer so we could all have a hot meal and there would be leftovers we could eat cold. Bruce and Terry had to sit in the Walgreen's for another hour as there was only one pharmacist there, and tons of people with life saving medications needed.
By the time Bruce got home we had independently come to the conclusion that we had to get the kids out of there ASAP. He headed out to use the last hour of twilight to try to free the cars from the driveway. Luckily, a few neighbors saw him and came over with a chainsaw and the 4 of them were able to get the driveway cleared in under a half hour.
Lucy had not improved as the day went on and now Griffin was developing a cough. We put them to bed and came up with an exit plan. We had a small transistor radio which got very few stations. We spent a second evening playing rummy and listening to country music (the only option) come in very crackly. I have to say, it was better than the isolation we felt in the dark silence punctuated with snapping limbs. We all went to bed in front of the fire with 2 -3 layer of clothes under a mountain of blankets. Lucy slept a little more that night.
Bruce was up and back to work early the next morning. The hospital was the only place to get medical treatment within the county so they were busy even though they had very few services they could offer on generator power. Thankfully, about noon, the cell phone towers went back on line and we could receive calls again. Bruce called then to tell me that his boss was going to let him have Friday off and to start to pack up. "I'm taking you to your Mothers' house!" That morning was so absolutely terrible, I will shudder over it the rest of my life. The kids were so cold and hungry and Lucy was sick. I tried to feed them soup for lunch but it was so cold in the kitchen they could see their breath as they were eating. I had to keep Griffin in the living room to keep him somewhat warm and he was so stir crazy, poor thing. He was really trying to do his best but he was literally, climbing the walls. I had to keep settling him down so Lucy could nap...what a nightmare and only the local am country radio station for company. They had started to say that morning that it could be up to 21 days before the main power grid was up and it was time to start evacuating. The local red cross shelter said they only had rations for 50 people and already had 300 there. They were begging for help but said you could only help if you had red cross training - it was a tragic state of affairs! I am really proud of myself that I never shed a tear although I really wanted to. After talking to Bruce, and returning my family's calls I went into full packing mode. I had to wash dishes in stages with boiling water and try to get everything ready to go.
Sunshine fared pretty well overall...she has all that fur to insulate her. Zed, our bearded dragon, on the other hand, was not doing so well. We had picked up the 55 gallon aquarium and put it to the side of the fireplace and stacked blankets on top of it but he was still not nearly warm enough (he usually has a heat rock and heat lamp on.) I had to punch holes in the top of a Tupperware to transport him and when I went to lift him out of his cage he didn't move. I was so upset, but thankfully, he finally reacted to my touch.
So we loaded up the car top carrier with mostly dirty clothes, the wagon with 4 people, a dog and a dragon and headed north in the dark. We set out on our 9 hour drive at 5:30 pm. We were so thankful that we had half a tank of gas and were able to evacuate. When we finally got to a town that had power we fueled up and picked up dinner. Hot Fries, what a luxury at that moment. The drive actually went great, we were just glad to be warm and Lucy and Griffin slept peacefully most of the way. I can't tell you how happy we were to arrive at the Moms' house!
Update:
Bruce headed back down last night and although we don't have power yet at the house, the hospital does, so things are looking up. Keep him in your thoughts as he is working hard both at the hospital and at home, trying to get things ready for us to come back.