Grateful To Be Alive, Hurricane Ian Victims Thankful For Kindness

LEE COUNTY, FL — If they're counting their blessings, the residents of Hurricane Ian-devastated Lee County would have to admit that those are far fewer this year.

It's a reality that Lee County Sheriff's Sgt. David Drum understands all too well.

He lives it every day on the job where he's assigned to assist the residents of storm-ravaged Pine Island in their recovery.

And he lives it on weekends at the church he, his wife and their three children attend, Cape Christian Church in Cape Coral. Drum is the church’s men’s ministry director and next month will complete a master’s degree in ministerial leadership and biblical studies.

In the two months since Hurricane Ian struck Lee County, Drum has encountered families who lost their homes, their life's savings and all of their worldly possessions. He's comforted residents who watched their hopes and dreams for the future vanish with the storm surge that wiped out the businesses they spent years building. He's commiserated with families who watched a lifetime of memories — photos, treasured keepsakes and precious items handed down through generations — disappear on Ian's unprecedented 18-foot waves. And he's shed tears with those who lost loved ones to Hurricane Ian's wrath.

While residents of the hardest-hit counties — Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota — breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday, the last day of the 2022 hurricane season, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission confirmed a total death toll of 141 people who died as a direct result of Hurricane Ian. The largest number of lives lost — 64 — were in Lee County.

After spending grueling, exhausting weeks working on search-and-rescue task forces on Sanibel, Captiva and Pine islands and the Lee County mainland communities of Fort Myers and Cape Coral following Hurricane Ian, members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said they couldn't help but forge strong bonds with the people of Lee County who had been strangers just a few months earlier.

While their official duties in Southwest Florida may have ended, Hillsborough's first responders' personal commitment continues, said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, sheriff's office and fire rescue employees spent their spare time soliciting and collecting donations from residents throughout Tampa Bay in an effort they dubbed Operation Hope.

They were determined to not only make sure the storm-weary residents of Lee County had a hot, hearty Thanksgiving meal but wanted to reassure them that they will not be forgotten amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, said Chronister.

On Monday, the Hillsborough County first responders loaded a semi-truck with turkeys, hams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies. Among those helping to fill the truck was Clearwater resident and former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and the team at his restaurant, Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater, which donated 320 turkeys and 150 hams to Operation Hope.

After loading up, the food-laden semi-truck made the 132-mile trip to Cape Coral and its ultimate destination, Drum's Cape Christian Church, where volunteers proceeded to cook turkeys, prepare side dishes and serve Thanksgiving dinner to 350 Lee County residents.

Many more Lee County residents lined up in their cars, waiting for more than two hours to receive the makings of a Thanksgiving feast and Walmart gift cards courtesy of the Hillsborough first responders.

As a 24-year veteran of law enforcement, Drum said he's witnessed humanity at its worst. What he saw on Thanksgiving Day, he said, was humanity at its best.

“While the day itself is important, Thanksgiving is an attitude we try to have year-round,” said Drum. “For my family, it’s not just about a day in November. We try to be generous with our money, time and talent throughout the year.”

He said the simplest gestures of kindness he saw following Hurricane Ian proved that he's not alone in that desire.

Following the hurricane, neighbors routinely checked on one another, shared what little they had whether it was a few bottles of water or a gallon of gas to fuel someone's generator and pitched in to help a neighbor get their home back in order although their own homes were destroyed.

One resident made his Starlink device available to anyone needing cell phone or internet service to contact worried family members.

"Post-hurricane, there was a sense of community, of gratitude, even among those who lost so much, for those who had it worse,” Drum said. “So many people were just grateful to be alive."

That's not to say there weren't times when hopes waned, tempers flared and humanity showed its darker side in the guise of looters and scammers intent on taking advantage of people at their most vulnerable.

“I think from my own perspective, what was frustrating was an inability to communicate with people because cell service was down. The ability to communicate, I guess, is something we took for granted and we’re grateful it’s been restored," he said.

Without means of communication, Drum said the residents came to rely on him for information.

"I have formed so many lasting relationships from being on Pine Island every day," Drum said.

He said the experience has given him a new perspective on the meaning of Thanksgiving.

“So many people are still displaced and, at times, it can seem like things will never return to normal,” Drum said. “But I think the people of Pine Island are the right mix of resilient and determined, and over time it will build back up. What I’ve seen, and what all of us are grateful for, is seeing the way so many people reached out to help each other during the worst of times."

Chronister seconded Drum's sentiments.

"Thanks to the generous donations by Hillsborough County residents, and many of our sworn and civilian staff, we were able to provide some comfort for families who have lost so much, if not everything," said Chronister. "I can't think of anything that exemplifies the Thanksgiving holiday more than being able to support our neighbors down south after such a devastating storm."

"Give thanks for what we have and how we move forward together," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "We’ve been through a tsunami of months after Hurricane Ian. We’re rebuilding this community together. Now is the time to reflect and see the good in people."