Kindness amidst the chaos

When he became disoriented during Hurricane Milton, this Ocala gentleman found solace and support by going to a light he saw in the distance.


Illustration by Amy Crescenzo/Ocala Gazette

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Posted October 30, 2024 | By Carole Savage Hagans, Special to the Gazette

While Hurricane Milton was passing over Marion County, with damaging winds and torrential rains, Charlie Warner was out walking in the storm. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he wanted to find his home. After some time of making his way through the harsh and deadly elements, he saw a light in the distance and followed it. He didn’t find his home, but he did find Kim Sandstrom and her husband, Simon, who were stunned to see the older man at their door.

Kim and Simon had spent the evening sheltered, listening and watching the storm, occupying themselves to keep their nerves calm. They had finally settled into bed around 2 a.m. and, as Kim was just about asleep, she and Simon both heard the doorbell.

“For some reason this seems to be tornado alley,” Kim said, referring to her residential area between Summerfield and The Villages. “The storms are really vicious here,” she said, adding that her first thought was that the doorbell was set off by the winds of the storms.

As she was thinking through a couple of other possibilities, Simon went to the door and found Warner, who was wearing a jacket and hat, was soaking wet and, even though he had one arm, was holding a water bottle. He asked them for directions to find his way.

When Kim joined her husband at the door, she said they quickly did a threat assessment in their minds, but decided Warner was genuinely lost and needed help. Although he was hesitant and continued asking for directions, they finally coaxed him into coming inside the house.

“We got his name, and he was very appropriate, and he just wanted to be home,” Kim said.

She noted that Simon is from the United Kingdom and comes from a culture of caring for seniors, so he was quickly ready to help take care of Warner. Kim also felt a strong sense of compassion for someone vulnerable in a weather emergency, as her mother was evacuated during Hurricane Helene in Citrus County. When Kim found out Warner was 85, the same age as her mother, she was sure she was meant to help him.

While the storm continued passing through, the couple had Warner sit down, wrapped in a blanket to help him dry off, and they began to gently question him about what happened that resulted in his walking in the hurricane. As they talked, their rescue dog Olivia settled next to Warner, who began to pet her. Kim and Simon determined Warner had become disoriented with the weather and wandered out in the storm. He then wanted to find his home. He explained he lived in a trailer alone and his wife had died a couple of years earlier. He also shared that he was originally from New York and had moved to the Belleview/Ocala area in 1972, where for years he had run his own lawn service.

Recognizing that Warner needed to stay in a safe place but also needed more resources than they could offer, Kim, who has had some health issues, as has Simon, called 911 for support.

The paramedic team showed up within 10 or 15 minutes, Kim said, and after going through some questions with Warner, they took him to the AdventHealth Belleview ER for more medical assistance. She said the team did a good job of working with Warner, speaking to him with kindness and reassuring him.

As the paramedics helped Warner out, Kim and Simon told him they’d check on him the next day, that they would see him again and they loved him. And then he was gone, and Kim and Simon finally went to bed again.

But Kim was only able to sleep for a short time before she decided she could do more. She posted the story of Warner and the evening experience on Facebook, hoping someone would know Warner. She also posted on the Facebook page Belleview Word of Mouth. And that’s where she found his family, and the rest of the mystery about his walking in the storm.

“I want to start by saying THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart,” Amber Smith wrote in a message to Kim. “That man last night was my grandfather. He does live in a trailer out there in Belleview, however, was picked up by some friends and taken to their block home right near the kingdom hall in Belleview prior to the hurricane. At some point during the night, he got up and left the house unbeknownst to anybody. During the storm the road to my house was blocked in by trees so none of us could get out. I again thank you so, so, very much for answering your door and staying with him as well and helping my grandpa!”

Amber and her mother Laurie Williams, Warner’s stepdaughter, live in Ocala. They recognized the description of Warner on social media and began to receive phone calls. They were able to find Warner after he was transferred to AdventHealth in Ocala and then to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where his medical records from a past surgery were stored. He was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and was given care and released a couple of days later.

“He remembers some of that evening,” Williams said. “He remembers leaving the house where he was staying, and the rain and wind outside. He thought he’d been walking for like a year. He saw the light, and likely it was the only one on, so he went to it.”

Warner’s memory isn’t normally impaired, so Williams believes likely the stress of being in the storm created confusion with everything that happened. He does, however, remember the house with the light and Simon answering the door, and how kind both Simon and Kim were to him.

Williams also said the friends who housed him for the storm didn’t even know he left their home. But now that’s he back in his own home, Williams and Smith make sure he’s being called multiple times a day and there are “extra eyes on him at all times.”

Dr. Briana Kelley, director of human services for Marion County Senior Services, said it’s important to respond to seniors when they appear to need help, but to do so in the right way. The way Kim and Simon spoke to Warner was a good start.

“One of the really high-level responses is to be an observer, to see if something doesn’t seem right,” she said. Other things to remember include:

  • Move slowly – older people are processing slower and it may feel too sudden for a fast movement near them
  • Stay 6 feet away, so someone who is older can better see as vision begins to be restricted with age
  • Hold hands still to help keep focus
  • Stay friendly to create a feeling of comfortableness
  • Assess what’s needed; water, heat, cooling down, etc.

Kelley said she and the other professionals at Senior Services are familiar with Warner and his story in the storm, and the safe and happy ending he experienced, with social media playing a big part.

“That’s the wonderful thing about Facebook,” she said.

As for Kim and Simon, they are happy to have been able to help.

“Most people would do the right thing,” Kim said,” and I’m just grateful we had the opportunity.”

Smith and Williams differ on that a little, with Williams saying, “You never know, you take a chance in a storm like that, knocking on a door where you see a light. God led him to the right house.”

Now that there has been some time after the storm, the group met for lunch at Pasta Faire in Belleview, to celebrate their new friendships. Everyone enjoyed breaking bread, as Kim and Laurie described it, and having time to relax and talk. They found they had common friends and Kim and Laurie had even been in a Zoom Bible study in the past.

As for Warner, he’s back to his routine of independence and happy being home again. Kim was pleased to see him, and to know he’s doing well. She enjoyed their conversation and noted, “He’s sharp as a tack.”

 

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