Ellicott City's "Thumbs Up Family"

Marlene Fairbrother is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Laura Diaz.

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This is the story of the "Thumbs Up" Family.

On Saturday, July 30, 2016 in Ellicott City, Maryland, the "Thumbs Up" Family (mom Laura Diaz, dad, 8 year old daughter, three year old son and 4 month old son) were at home in their downtown apartment when disaster hit. In a short 20 minutes their lives changed forever. They are currently displaced, trying to stay with friends and moving around while they figure out what to do next. What's worse, the husband's job was in the down town area, so they are now without a permanent home AND looking for work! Some friends in the area are trying to help the family get back on their feet and we hope people can contribute something, even $5, because every little bit will help and add up. And if you can't give, we understand, but please consider sharing their story so it can reach more people! The campaign has been set up by friends with the "Thumbs Up" family's approval and only the family has access to the funds. Just so people know, there is another gofundme page that a teacher friend had also set up (by CoffeeArtDiane) -- it is legitimate but the family wants people to know about both campaigns so that people don't think they are trying to deceive people, they are not, so feel free to give to the other campaign or this one, just not both.

Below is Laura's story, it's a long one, but if you want to experience a glimpse in what it would be like to go through a disaster, then read her experience --she wrote it in the hours after the disaster. We haven't included the kid's names or photos of them because of their concern for privacy and safety for this kids (they are one of the only kids living on Main Street and the local news keeps trying to interview the kids, which they want to protect their privacy.) THANK YOU for READING and SHARING!
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The "Thumbs Up Family" written by Laura Diaz - aka "mama":

We are good! I mean emotionally a mess, but physically fine. Just sore and a few bumps and bruises. I felt like I needed to just say that right away. And thank you, thank you for thinking of me, for praying for us and for all that you have done to make this just a little better. I mean the reason we had to move there in the first place was drama and now this…I can’t seem to catch a break. My whole life is like a gothic novel for goodness sake LOL!!! The county is saying it could be months before we can go back. AHHHH! Now all we are worried about is people breaking in and taking what little we have left.

It was around 7pm and I asked my husband to take our kids up to take a tubby. I never do that, I usually let him take a nap before work and I do the bedtime thing, but I had an unusual amount of dishes and I wanted to get them done STAT. As I am washing away my community is also washing away. I look out the window, my sink overlooks the train tracks and the river. And I see the white water rapids and an SUV float by.

(Play to see the video from the bedroom window)

I screamed for my hubby, “Houston we have a problem”, and we traded places. He went to move the car, he had to run thru waist deep dangerous water to get to the car, drive half on the curb and half off just to get out of town. I didn’t think when we passed on the stairs it could have been the last time we saw each other. It was only for a few hours though thankfully.

While he was off with the car and trying to get back to us, we were stuck inside. I got the kids ready for bed and put them in bed, I told our daughter to keep the boys with her and not to move. Then I heard an ungodly loud bang and the house shook. I ran down stairs and the inside stair well was swirling high with water, like in the titanic movie, it was crazy fast. The door was being banged on and finally broken into by a homeless man. Not the nice homeless man we usually help (he’s ok by the way), but a scary one I have never seen before. He chased me up the little stairs that were left not under water and he and I did a little back and forth door pushing. Finally my dog decided to go nuts, he hesitated once and I got it bolted shut. I called 911 violently shaking but they were busy…yes that is what they said LOL. By now my children are crying for their daddy and frankly I am too. He proceeded to get into my neighbors houses but was unsuccessful.

So I just got it together and said to my children, no no this is gonna turn like fun (something our daughter used to say when she was little). And I said pack a bag just in case of everything you can’t live without, our 8 year old daughter said that’s just you guys and our 3 year old son said DONATELLO!!! So I said outfit, pjs, ipad and Donatello. Only what each of us needed for the night. The screaming from the street, fire alarm and continuous horn honking was enough to make anyone go crazy. We peaked out the window, and shouldn’t have.

We saw families and couples yelling from their cars. One woman could see me and was begging me to help her, I wanted to jump out of the window and help her, but I had 3 little faces looking at me crying for their daddy that we weren’t even sure made it out alive. I didn’t want to orphan them. Plus I am a great swimmer but wasn’t sure I was strong enough to go thru that with cars flying by and building parts and electric wires and fire, help them, and then swim back. I’m cool but not that cool. I will have nightmares about her the rest of my life. By now the entire bridge was under water.

The neighbors came over one by one, I am like the mom of the group. Everyone else is young and no kids lol. We all ended up separated but we came together the next day, it was almost agonizing for all of us to be apart and not know what happened to the other.

So my phone is at 2%, electricity is flickering, the gas pipe breaks, the car in front of my house is whipping around tangled in the telephone wires catching on fire and I can’t find my husband. The smell of gas was so bad we had to cover our faces with towels. The police want us to evacuate because they think we’re going to explode. He said to get in the boat, I was like no I have an infant. He said too bad lol. I get in that nasty scary water with our infant on me and 3 year old on my shoulders and next thing I know my husband comes walking up the back way, him and his friend, climbing down the mud slide. My one neighbor said, “OMG it’s like from a movie”. He parked in Catonsville and walked, all that way, not knowing if we were even still there. We strapped the babies on us and walked, more like climbed straight up hill in the mud hands over feet. Our dog helped all of us the best he could. Finally we made it up that mountain, after countless slips back down and trees falling all around us and sticks stabbing our legs and the mosquitoes having a field day with my children.

We made it to the top…the worst is over right. Wrong lol. We get separated in the chaos AGAIN!!! Me with kids and dog, him and his friend with bags. Miles later find each other in the pitch black woods. I swear my husband and I have been together/known each other for 30 years and we have been thru more disasters than one couple should. We don’t need phones or GPS to find each other, even before we owned phones, we always found each other. Our daughter said, “I am starting to trust this thing you two have going” LOL. And my little boy clutched that Donatello every step of the way. He kept saying “thumbs up mama Donatello is OK!” And my sweet 20lb 4 month old slept in the sling strapped to me the whole time.

So when we finally got to each other and walked miles to the car. We tried going places, but it’s hard a family of 5 and a dog covered in mud for people to want to let us in. Our land lord did. Once again she has saved our lives.

For now we are with her. Not sure for how long. People want to know what I need or how to help. I don’t know how to answer that. I am pretty sure we all have like PTSD, which sounds crazy but we all got in the one bed and cried ourselves to sleep. And all day today we haven’t left each others side. We keep meeting up with the neighbors and just crying it all out.

I felt bad people were texting and emailing, and I couldn’t respond, I was fighting for my life and had no service or battery power. In fact I was literally texting my 3 friends while mud sliding and randomly walking around in the dark, sort of laughing at myself saying oh god if you could see me now. In fact when I hit the water my cell was in a baggie and the guy said, ” A (name of friend) wants to know what’s happening to you.” I just looked at him and he said, “yeah she'd never believe you anyway.” No one would believe what we went thru, not really. The news can say what they want, they can send you pictures of what happened, but no one, aside from my neighbors will ever know truly in your soul know what just happened to us, in the matter of 20 minutes we were fine and then in the middle of a natural disaster. And when it was all said and done my little man said to me “thumbs up mama you are so cool, so awesome!” And I said, “not me, God is.”

Thanks again for all your prayers, keep them coming, this craziness is just the beginning of a long road ahead.

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Update: August 5th, 2016:
As of today, the building has been completely boarded up and they've been told they may never get to return to their home.