Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWhat Really MattersAlready facing enormous obstacles, a family builds a life after Katrina What really Fmatters still remains By LAURA HENSLEY Eagle Staff Writer nn Kwasniak flipped through a stack of slightly rumpled photo- graphs that show smiling, early orning faces happily celebrating Christmas a few years ago. Her daughters, still in their pajamas, held up gifts for the camera. Her son posed Christmas has always been special for Kwasniak and her family, but these photos are the only tangible things left of their Christmases past. Everything else — favorite orna- ments and other photographs, along with the entire contents of their home — was washed away by Hurricane Katrina nearly four months ago. Kwasniak thought her mentally dis- Eagle photo /Dave McDermand Ann and John Kwasniak (standing, left and right) and their family are making a new life in Bryan. Eagle photo Paul Zoeller vacuees enjoy holiday traditions in their new Bryan home Anna Silcio (center) thanks Nan Reichel (left) and Ann Fleischer of Peace Lutheran Church for her gifts Friday at her home in Bryan. Silcio and her family were rescued from their Louisiana home after Hurricane Katrina and now live in Bryan. 1 and Desiree Silcio, 27 — could've been swept away with the storm, too. She was fearful that the fragile women, both of whom are severely autistic, were going to die as the family strug- gled in the heat and filth to survive the devastating flood that rocked their neighborhood in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish. m a orana -new DIaCK leather faelteL. abled daughters - A nna Silcio 25, "I wasn't going to let this storm take them away from me," Kwasniak said. "It took everything else, but not them." Kwasniak's family opted to ride out the Aug. 29 storm because it is difficult to travel with the daughters, who func Lion on the levels of children 3etween 3 and 8 years old. They were caught at their :come when the floodwaters -ose 10 feet in 10 minutes. Barefoot and in pajamas, the 'amily had only enough time :o grab a medicine bag and :heir pet dog, Sweets, before scrambling up a ladder and nto a cramped crawl space. Cwasniak's husband, John, :hen broke a hole in the roof with a hammer so they could escape to the top. The family eventually was spotted by neighbors in a flat - bottom boat who tossed them hot sodas and snacks scav- enged from local shops. "They all thought we were going to die," Kwasniak said of her two daughters and son Michael Silcio, who has bipo- lar disorder. "They didn't understand what was going on. I just kept telling them, `Mama loves you. Marna will always love you." The family spent two nights on their rooftop and inside a neighbor's attic before they were snatched up by a Coast Guard helicopter. "I saw the Coast Guard man and, in my delirium, I thought it was Jesus coming to get us," Kwasniak said. One by one, the family and their dog were plucked from the rooftop. The helicopter dropped them off at a crum- bled levee near their home. From there the family trav- eled in a dump truck, a ferry and a bus, eventually winding up at Houston's Astrodome. Confused, shaken and weary, the family was spotted there by members of Mosaic, a nonprofit organization that helps people with developmen- tal disabilities. The group, searching the dome for people to help, convinced the family that a shelter wasn't the best place for them and brought them to Brazos County. "The average person has a hard time with all of this, so you could imagine how hard it was for them," said Danyeal Grays, executive director of Mosaic in Bryan. "They need- ed mental space and to get tled as soon as possible. W told them, `We've got to get you out of here. "' Kwasniak said explainin the devastation of the storm to her daughters has been nearly impossible. "They just know the water took everything away," she said. "It took everything they ever knew." Now the family is trying to make a new life, living rent - free in a donated four -bed- room house in Bryan that once was a Mosaic group home. The house has been filled with Christmas cheer. A tree stands in the corner. Stock- ings hang above the fireplace. Members of Peace Lutheran Church in College Station have donated furniture, deco- rations and other items. They even dropped off Christmas gifts for the family "It's so homey and nice," Kwasniak said. "We are going to have Christmas like we've always had it." Christmas at the Kwasni- aks' is a perpetual celebration of innocence, faith and family. "They will believe in Santa Claus until the day they die," Kwasniak said about her daughters. She is quick to produce two new photographs recently taken of her daughters sitting atop Santa Claus' lap and two "Dear Santa" letters they wrote this year. "They love Christmas," she said. "It's a special time for al of us." This year has been tough fo the family, but Kwasniak said she is determined to make a new start in their new home. Returning to Louisiana is not an option, she said. "We're going to be OK and get back on our feet," she said "We want everyone to know how grateful we are for every- thing."