Jessie LaRusso
Posted by Trudy Smith on November 27, 2007, 12:08 am
I saw a message asking about Jessie. I was a flight attendant and found Jessie wandering around the swamp. I called to her and got her to come stand with me. We were in ankle deep water. I remember that she was calm and wondering what had happened and where we were. I told her we were in the Everglades. She said "get us to higher ground". I told her there was no higher ground and we would have to wait for the helicopters to find us. It was important not to wander around out there because you didn't know what was under your feet, so we stayed where we were and waited for help. While we waited, we got a 12 yr old boy to come stand with us. His name is Carl and he couldn't find his father. We reassured him and talked to him about his school. We prayed and sang songs and waited. When the first helicopter landed they took the little boy, so Jessie and I continued waiting. I eventually sat down in the muck but Jessie couldn't because it put too much pressure on her chest, so she continued to stand. When the next helicopter came, I was chosen to hold two children and I told the Coast Guard guys that Jessie had to come with us. I wasn't going to leave her out there by herself. So we both got on the helicopter and took off. It landed at Hialeah Race Track and we were put into Ambulances for the ride to the hospital. Then we were tagged by injury and put in the cafeteria to wait our turn at seeing a doctor. That's all I remember. I don't think I ever saw Jessie again but I have thought about her and prayed for her ever since. I'm so sorry to hear that she has passed away.
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