Good Morning, Good News!
Most would agree our emergency first responders are heroes, and that has never been more true given how they have stepped up to help after the devastating tornado struck our community.
But extraordinary events some times make heroes out of ordinary people.
That is the case with a local father and daughter — Ross and Taylor Duff — who found themselves in a terrifying situation during the deadly weather event. They rose to the occasion.
Taylor, 12, was babysitting Charlie and Andrew Haubert, ages 7 and 6, respectively, in the Haubert’s Indian Lake area home when the twister hit.
Taylor, in only her second time ever babysitting, was able to speak to her dad before the two lost communication because of the storm.
She calmly and very maturely took the Haubert boys to the home’s crawl space and covered them to keep them from harm while the nightmarish, freight train-sounding storm passed near the home.
Ross, who was unable to get to his daughter initially because of the storm, sprang into action and literally moved heaven and earth, and lots of storm-related obstacles and debris to get to her and the Haubert boys.
The Haubert home was spared from significant damage, although some of their neighbors were not as fortunate.
The children are all safe and sound.
Ross sustained a nasty broken leg during the night’s events. He’s now home from the hospital, but will need several weeks to heal and recover.
Below is Ross Duff’s account of events via a Facebook post.
Editor’s Note: We are certain there are many stories of heroic actions and neighbors helping neighbors after Thursday’s devastating weather. We hope to tell them all. If you know of individuals, first responders or groups who you feel deserve recognition, feel free to share their stories with us at [email protected].
Friends and Family,
Apologies for this email/text/post as I feel it is the best way to accurately convey what happened last night and to thank you all for your outpouring of support, care, and prayers. I genuinely appreciate it. Most importantly we will all be ok.
Last night Indian Lake was hit by an F-3 tornado. Paige and I’s oldest daughter Taylor (12) was babysitting our friends‘ children on Orchard Island which took a direct hit. Ironically, her 2nd time “officially” babysitting for others.
When we realized things were not right, it was too late to travel outside of the storm’s path. Taylor was brave enough to navigate into the crawl space of the home and weather the storm in the dark with limited cell service. She took care of a couple young boys, kept them safe, and did so with incredible maturity. I am very, very proud of her.
Upon conclusion of the storm, I traveled to the island by truck to find it impassable not only for myself, but for emergency services.
After speaking with law enforcement it was decided that we would coordinate our family’s Cat 980h wheel loader, along with others volunteering their time and equipment, and cut a path through debris to begin S&R. It was not a small feat clearing trees, boats, buildings etc.
An hour passes and traversing the roads was made possible, albeit not pleasant. Once the scene was deemed passable I made the way to where Taylor and the boys were residing.
Upon finishing up the load out, I stepped into a reasonably familiar garage, only to find that the stairs were moved and the shaft to the crawl space was exposed. This resulted in a fall and fractured tibia. A careless oversight by me and a not so simple accident.
This lead to the realization that I was in an interesting predicament with an exposed fracture, unable to walk, and significant bleeding. The details are not pleasant but I had some dear friends nearby that were able to secure emergency services. You know who you are and I appreciate you more than I can express.
I was transported to Mary Rutan Hospital, and the care I received was first class. It was deemed that the fracture was complex and required a specialized trauma orthopedic surgeon and as such was transported.
I received surgery this morning at Grant Hospital and am being told a 6-week recovery. I kindly ask that visitation be left to a minimum although very much appreciated.
I do want to thank each of you that have reached out to Paige and I offering support, prayers, and thoughts. We are grateful for you all. It’s just a broken leg, an accident, and will be something that heals.
I would be remiss If I did not publicly thank our first responders and the staff of Mary Rutan Health. The interaction I had with them all was top notch, and I very much appreciate you all. Our community is lucky to be able to have you as neighbors.
-Ross Duff