Last week, hundreds of thousands of people left southwest Florida in preparation for Hurricane Milton. Two of them, a single mother and her youngster, ended up in Central Ohio.
Miranda Pagan revealed that she and her kid had just survived Hurricane Helene while living in a mobile home in the Tampa region. She stated that when she learned Hurricane Milton was heading straight for them, she couldn’t take any more chances.
“Yeah, a lot of emotions are going through my head,” Pagan reported.
She said she packed her car with basics before driving north with her two-year-old son.
“Whether I knew where I was going or not, I didn’t think it was safe for me to be where I was,” Pagan told me.
Pagan was speaking with her buddy, Kayla Reyes, whom she had met through a common family connection at the end of last year. Reyes currently resides in West Jefferson.
“She was stressing out about, you know, not knowing where to go and not having anywhere to go, so I’m not going to, you know, leave her in her car or something,” Reyes informed me. “So I was like, ‘Just come up here,’ and we’ll make it work. She contemplated and prayed about it, and then, unexpectedly, she said, “I’m just coming.”
Pagan reached central Ohio on Thursday.
“I’m doing all I can to set up my son’s room for her,” Reyes joked. “I try to make it as adorable as possible.” I prepare a small gift basket for her and her son, set up a small area for him, include some surprises and items that she has received from others, and emphasize that my home is her home. I’ve always known I had a mission in her life, and I believe it’s to aid her.”
Pagan has yet to determine the extent of the damage to her mobile home near Tampa.
The women said they are doing everything they can to keep Pagan’s son comfortable, including showing him the fall celebrations that are not always available in Florida.
“They’ve helped a lot, too, with donations for him and both of us, so really just what we needed and everything else will come in time,” Pagan told reporters.
Reyes launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Pagan and her child replace all the items they lost during their storm escape.
Pagan stated that, given the uncertainties she has faced in recent years, she is searching for a place to settle down and believes central Ohio would be an excellent choice.