It would be easy to lose hope in the situation Michelle Mastrototaro and her son, Bryce, are in right now. It’s as hopeless as it is horrible.
Bryce, 16, is sleeping in a Pack ‘n Play meant for a baby.
WFTS His mom is sleeping on an air mattress just feet away.
“I get so emotional when I think about him,” Michelle said through tears. “I’ve devoted my whole life to him.”
There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her son. She’s loved and cared for him in a way few parents would understand.
Bryce is autistic and blind.
“He just wants to be home,” Michelle said with tears in her eyes. “I just want to be home too.”
Their Port Tampa house had never flooded before in its entire 111 year history until Hurricane Helene.
“I was not prepared. It just keep creeping and creeping — it was almost like the water just came so fast,” Michelle recalled. “6.77 feet.”
Michelle Mastrototaro’s home flooded for the first time in its 111 year history
Now, Michelle, her husband, and their children, including Bryce, are crammed into a small room upstairs from their flooded home.