Christopher Smith, paralyzed from the waist down two weeks earlier from cancer choking his spine, wanted to die at home in Punta Gorda.⁠ ⁠ He would not evacuate from his 1909 craftsman house two blocks away from the Peace River. He did not want his wife to be cleaning him up in front of strangers in a shelter.⁠ ⁠ So Renee Smith put a life preserver over his head and zip-tied a tarp over his hospital bed like a tent in their living room. She cushioned their stained glass windows with FedEx cardboard, pillows and garbage bags. She cursed at him for making her stay there, then she poured a glass of port and hid under the kitchen table.⁠ ⁠ “You put all these crazy things out of your brain for survival,” said Renee Smith, 60. ⁠ ⁠ For eight hours, Hurricane Ian’s 100 mph winds whipped the Smiths’ home. Just when they thought it was over, the sky went black. Christopher Smith gripped his bed railings so hard they left bruises on his hands around his do-not-resuscitate bracelet.⁠ ⁠ “I couldn’t do anything except sit here and look out the window until it got too dark and couldn’t see anything,” said Christopher Smith, 72. “But we made it through, and we’re lucky for that.”⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ ✍️ : Colleen Wright & 📷 : @ivy.ceballo / Tampa Bay Times