FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. — When the opportunity came to buy an established Florida fishing business, the same company where her son has worked for half a decade, Debra Donze said she and her husband got on board.
But the timing turned out to be catastrophic.
Donze said her husband is getting close to retirement age. So, he got an expected wild hair and wanted to buy the business.
"Then, the hurricane came," she said.
Just days after setting everything up, Hurricane Ian made a direct hit on their new home, new office, and new business as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 28.
"These are just some pictures of the neighbor's house," Donze said as she scrolled through photos of the damage on her phone.
Donze already had strong family ties to the area with several family members, including her mother, who also lived there.
Concerned for those family members, the Donzes jumped in the car and drove to Fort Myers Beach from their Fairview Heights family home.
Debra said her son, Robbie Donze, first tried to take the 65-foot Sea Trek boat on a hurricane evacuation plan upriver, but the boat was too tall to cross under a lowered railroad bridge.
He rode out the storm on the boat, updating his family as he could.
"The dock disintegrated, and he was kind of out at sea," she said. "It was an absolute miracle that they ended up across the highway in the mangrove trees safely."
As she took stock of the damage after the storm, Debra Donze noted all the things they lost including five family homes, five family cars, her father's ashes.
But she is also quick to look at the bright side and said she told herself that her family could be planning funerals.
She said it is hard for people to understand the damage without walking through the wreckage and seeing it with one's own eyes.
"It’s like nothing we have ever seen before," she said. "People just lost everything."
Now she said she hopes to use their charter boat for re-building and planning to get back in the water and help people.
They are raising money to repair the boat and use it to help other Floridians get to their homes to retrieve any possessions they can salvage.
To help the Donze's repair their boat, you can donate to their GoFundMe account.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.