WEBVTT 00:03.049 --> 00:05.730 If you have a message to tell the 00:05.730 --> 00:07.929 rescue crew that uh say to you , what 00:07.929 --> 00:10.329 is your message ? I owe my life . I owe 00:10.329 --> 00:13.949 our lives . They just , 00:14.359 --> 00:16.719 I , I'll always have the , the utmost 00:16.719 --> 00:18.719 respect for the Coast Guard because 00:18.719 --> 00:20.719 they did some dangerous work . They 00:20.719 --> 00:22.775 really took their own lives in their 00:22.775 --> 00:24.886 hand , you know , they did jeopardize 00:24.886 --> 00:27.052 their own lives to save us . Water got 00:27.052 --> 00:29.108 all the can't even come upstairs all 00:29.108 --> 00:31.275 the way . This was the living room . I 00:31.275 --> 00:33.330 had some pretty curtains and I had a 00:33.330 --> 00:37.319 new sofa set in there . That's what 00:37.319 --> 00:41.250 it looked like after the hurricane . I 00:41.250 --> 00:43.472 didn't think I'd make it through it . I 00:43.472 --> 00:47.349 honestly didn't . The wind was blowing 00:47.349 --> 00:49.516 so hard I couldn't do nothing with the 00:49.516 --> 00:51.738 boat was just whipping back and forth . 00:51.738 --> 00:53.905 I couldn't do nothing with it . So I , 00:53.905 --> 00:55.905 I , I've seen a bunch of trees like 00:55.905 --> 00:58.127 limbs and stuff floating , and I , uh , 00:58.127 --> 00:57.909 I nosed it in there and I left it there . 00:57.990 --> 01:01.020 We stayed almost 7 hours in there . And 01:01.020 --> 01:04.699 the , the wind would The wind would hit 01:04.699 --> 01:07.500 the boat and it was it was just like a 01:07.500 --> 01:10.459 like a bam and the boat would almost go 01:10.459 --> 01:13.169 over , almost tip over to turn it over 01:13.419 --> 01:16.220 and then it would rock back and finally 01:16.220 --> 01:18.387 the wind started calm down . We just , 01:18.387 --> 01:22.010 we sung and we prayed . And Cassie just 01:22.010 --> 01:24.066 smiled through the whole thing , you 01:24.066 --> 01:26.010 know , little bitty , little bitty 01:26.010 --> 01:28.121 thing smiling , and she said , Mama , 01:28.121 --> 01:30.288 they got a radio in here . So I handed 01:30.288 --> 01:30.250 I got the radio and I said , Mayday . I 01:30.250 --> 01:32.250 kept on Mayday , May , we need some 01:32.250 --> 01:35.589 help . While the storm was coming in 01:35.589 --> 01:37.533 was still over in New Orleans , we 01:37.533 --> 01:39.756 decided to follow the storm in with the 01:39.756 --> 01:41.867 helos on the way over , we decided to 01:41.867 --> 01:43.867 go down south where the opening the 01:43.867 --> 01:46.029 river was . We heard a mayday from a 01:46.029 --> 01:49.279 frantic woman . Saying that her and her 01:49.279 --> 01:53.160 daughter and her grandchild were stuck 01:53.160 --> 01:55.440 on a small boat . I said , we found a 01:55.440 --> 01:58.099 flower gun . I said , you want us to 01:58.099 --> 02:00.377 shoot a flare ? We only had two flares . 02:00.377 --> 02:02.599 He said , Yeah , shoot a flare . I shot 02:02.599 --> 02:04.488 it . He said , No , we didn't see 02:04.488 --> 02:04.269 nothing . He said , Don't shoot the 02:04.269 --> 02:07.059 next one . After about 15 minutes of 02:07.059 --> 02:09.170 looking for them , and we finally saw 02:09.170 --> 02:11.940 the flare and we found a small aluminum 02:11.940 --> 02:14.710 boat with an enclosed cabin . 02:15.880 --> 02:17.991 Directly underneath some trees in the 02:17.991 --> 02:20.047 middle of a Port Sulfur neighborhood 02:20.047 --> 02:22.047 surrounded by houses that were just 02:22.047 --> 02:24.047 about completely underwater . And I 02:24.047 --> 02:26.047 looked up there and this big orange 02:26.047 --> 02:28.410 helicopters up there . And this man 02:28.410 --> 02:31.050 just come down and he jumped in the 02:31.050 --> 02:33.770 water and he climbed in the boat and we 02:33.770 --> 02:36.139 was I guess we was just panicked 02:36.139 --> 02:39.339 hysterical and he hugged me and he said 02:39.339 --> 02:41.610 y'all gonna be OK . He said , we're 02:41.610 --> 02:43.832 gonna take care of y'all y'all gonna be 02:43.832 --> 02:46.259 OK . Went inside the boat and found a 02:46.259 --> 02:48.259 woman , her daughter , and then the 02:48.259 --> 02:50.370 grandchild . Grandchild was a 4 month 02:50.370 --> 02:52.592 old premature girl . Woman and baby are 02:52.592 --> 02:54.815 getting in the basket . He got Tasha in 02:54.815 --> 02:57.037 the boat with Cassidy . She was holding 02:57.037 --> 02:59.092 her in her arms and one dog , he put 02:59.092 --> 03:01.148 the dog in the basket . I said , I'm 03:01.148 --> 03:03.148 not leaving without my animals . He 03:03.148 --> 03:05.370 said , they're coming with us . So they 03:05.370 --> 03:07.970 lifted her up . Rest as I do any 03:07.970 --> 03:08.970 survivor . 03:11.750 --> 03:13.990 Then he sent the basket back down . I 03:13.990 --> 03:16.046 had two dogs and I was in the basket 03:16.300 --> 03:18.244 and the basket blew into them tree 03:18.244 --> 03:20.300 limbs and nettle broke the limbs and 03:20.300 --> 03:22.470 all and got us out of there and picked 03:22.470 --> 03:24.526 us up and that was the scariest part 03:24.526 --> 03:26.748 getting in from the getting that basket 03:26.748 --> 03:29.110 into the helicopter . I was terrified . 03:31.500 --> 03:34.139 What is there that you feel hasn't been 03:34.139 --> 03:36.380 told yet from the story or anything 03:36.380 --> 03:38.860 that you want to add to this ? It's not 03:38.860 --> 03:40.916 too much to add to it . I just think 03:40.916 --> 03:43.138 that , you know , the , the Coast Guard 03:43.138 --> 03:45.800 saved our lives . That doesn't nothing 03:45.800 --> 03:47.856 I can explain to you any better than 03:47.856 --> 03:49.070 that . They saved our lives .