Dorian's fury tested 85-year-old woman left floating for 3 days

Grand Bahama hurricane survivor, 85, remains hospitalized in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. ā€“ It hasĀ been nearly two weeks since SisselĀ Johnson and her 85-year-old mother, Virginia Mosvold, were rescued, after surviving Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama.

As the flood waters wereĀ rising in their Grand Bahama home, the family punctured holes in the drywall to keep their heads above water. For three days, Mosvold was floating in a makeshift hammock held together by electric wires. She heldĀ onto the refrigerator, which was wedged in aĀ corner.Ā 

"We said goodbye to her a few times and told her we loved her," Johnson, 51,Ā told the South Florida SunSentinel. "It's by the grace of God that she survived."

After the harrowing ordeal and the touch and go rescue, Johnson and MosvoldĀ traveled to South Florida. On Friday morning, doctors at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood were stillĀ treating Mosvold for pneumonia and leg infections.Ā 

JohnsonĀ said she and her husband George Johnson are staying with friends in South Florida. They lost their home and their Ol'FreetownĀ Farm in Grand Bahama. Hundreds of their animals died and a 41-year-oldĀ farmĀ employee drowned and vanished.Ā 

Bahamian authorities said the death tollĀ stands at 50 and about 1,300 people are listed as missing.Ā 


About the Author:

Alex Finnie joined the Local 10 News team in May 2018. South Florida is home! She was raised in Miami and attended the Cushman School and New World School of the Arts for high school.