Yesterday, to the sound of applause, Lillian Gorman walked arm and arm with her grandson out the door of the Red Cross shelter at South Fort Myers High School. Magnetically smiling, she hugged and thanked those that cared for her after Hurricane Ian. "Everyone has been wonderful at the shelter," she said.

Prior to the storm, Lillian thought about leaving her home on Pine Island. However, after calling and learning that hotels and motels nearby were all occupied, she decided to ride out the storm in her Pine Island home.

At almost 95 years old, Lillian is grateful to be safe after weathering the terrifying hurricane. "Thank God I'm alive," she says.

After traveling for two days from Traverse City, Michigan to pick up his grandma at the shelter, her grandson, David looked lovingly at Lillian, "for about 15 hours we lost contact with my grandma, it was scary, but we knew if anyone could make it through that storm – she could.”

At her home, two days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida, Lillian opened her front door and had to hold on to the handle to ensure she didn't get swept off her feet as water poured into the first floor of her home. A massive piece of metal had landed on her front patio, preventing her from leaving. When the local police department stopped by to conduct a wellness check, they discovered that it was the sign from the Circle K gas station, located a quarter mile away, that had floated down the road and lodged at Lilian's doorstep. With her police escorts, Lillian grabbed three outfits from her closet and was taken to a nearby ferry station and found shelter at the Red Cross facility.

At the shelter, Lillian radiated positivity and said talking to people about her experience helped. She appreciated that kind Red Cross volunteers were there helping to provide a safe place to stay, meals, and health services at shelters for anyone displaced…"I donate to the Red Cross every year. I never experienced what you do before, but now I know," she said.

Lillian's grandson, a 21-year Coast Guard veteran living in Michigan, is taking his grandma back up north for a while. "I'm going to winter wonderland, but have no winter clothes," Lillian says. Of her three outfits, she is glad that two are long-sleeved sweaters. Her biggest concern right now is finding a coat to brave the winter ahead. "I left everything, all my clothes, all my documents," she said.

While she will be spending the next few months up north, Lillian says she will return to Pine Island. "That's my home and I am looking forward to getting back there."

To help people affected by Hurricane Ian, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation.