The Flood, Part 2

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Where the River Took Us
Host: Texas Monthly
Episode: The Flood, Part 2
Date: May 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This emotionally charged episode chronicles the aftermath of the catastrophic Central Texas floods on July 4, 2025, experienced firsthand by Texas Monthly senior editor Erin Parsley and her family. Continuing her Pulitzer Prize-winning storytelling, Erin reconstructs the family’s harrowing escape and survival during the flood through intimate conversations. The episode underscores the raw realities of loss, trauma, and small moments of heroism, while spotlighting the resilience needed to endure, reunite, and begin the process of healing in the wake of unimaginable disaster.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Stories of Survival (00:24 – 04:05)

• Erin Parsley's Proposal Story:
  The episode opens on an intimate, pre-flood memory, with Erin recounting proposing to Patrick in New Mexico. This sets a tone of personal connection before juxtaposing it with the trauma to come.

  • “I ultimately found this ring… it looks like tree bark on the outside and it's encased in white gold.” (01:14, Erin)

• Immediate Flood Experience:
  Erin and her family recount how their home was overtaken and ripped apart by floodwaters, leading to a desperate scramble for survival.

  • “I'd managed to climb into a tree above the water. But after the house broke apart, I had no idea what had happened to the rest of my family… The river had separated us all, and we were now on our own.” (02:30, Erin)

• Fragmented Memory & Shock:
  Aaron (Erin’s father) describes gaps in memory amid trauma.

  • “I think the front part of my brain stopped working because I don't remember anything till I'm crawling into this tree about three quarters of a mile down.” (03:13, Aaron)

2. Family Reunions, Loss, and Heroism (05:21 – 12:36)

• Survivors Find Each Other:
  Lance and Patrick, swept downstream, manage to reunite and offer mutual support clinging to treetops.

  • “We kind of helped each other get into the tree. And these are very tall trees. We were way up there.” (05:46, Lance)

• Alyssa’s Desperate Strength:
  Alyssa hangs onto her daughter Rosemary in a tree, holding her aloft for hours despite near exhaustion.

  • “The whole idea that Alyssa was able to hang on to Rosemary and somehow push her up in the tree and stay in the same tree like that is just a miracle…” (13:43, Erin)

• Processing Loss:
  The family gradually realizes that young Clay is missing and presumed lost. Alyssa’s pain and Lance’s efforts to comfort her are palpable.

  • “I know Rosemary and Clay were both gone… There’s no way anyone else got out of this. Everyone’s gone. What are we going home to?” (06:27, Lance)

3. Rescue Attempts and Reunification (14:44 – 27:25)

• Efforts to Reach Stranded Survivors:
  Multiple attempts to rescue those up in trees involve improvised tools: a life jacket, a kayak, and finally an inner tube secured by a garden hose.

  • “Mr. Marvin had these inner tubes with a bottom, and Patrick found a water hose… He tied up to that inner tube.” (25:05, Lance)

• The Perilous Drop to Safety:
  Alyssa and Rosemary must let go and drop 20 feet into an inner tube— a tense and pivotal rescue moment.

  • “Alyssa just pried her arms off of the tree and picked her up… and just had to drop your kid… She fell probably 20ft.” (26:06, Erin)

• Shelter and Aftercare:
  The Marvins, local residents, and later the Lopezes provide food, warmth, and emotional first aid.

  • “This older couple, the Marvins, welcomed us into their home and brought us water, some granola bars and cookies… and they had towels… I kneeled down and put my hands on [Rosemary’s] shoulders, and I said, I can’t believe you did that. You’re so strong. You’re so brave. We’re so proud of you.” (27:25, Erin)

• First Responders & Hospitalization:
  The family is eventually taken to a reunification center, and Alyssa’s condition (unconscious and in shock) is monitored at a hospital in Fredericksburg.

4. Moments of Humanity and Aftermath (32:25 – 40:00)

• Simple Comforts and Childlike Resilience:
  Erin’s friend Melissa picks them up at the hospital, seeing the group’s disheveled and dazed state.

  • “You were all wearing funny clothes. Little Rosemary… so sweet in her big, giant adult-sized T-shirt.” (32:25, Melissa)

• Processing Survival and Grief:
  Erin reflects on the paradox of recovery—how saving Rosemary gave Alyssa the strength to continue, and how children’s resilience is both inspiring and heartrending.

  • “Something that I started telling myself is that Alyssa saved Rosemary's life. And I knew very, very early on that in a way, Rosemary was going to save her life.” (34:04, Erin)

• Emotional Exhaustion:
  The logistics of return home, getting food, and showering accentuate the surreal contrast between normalcy and trauma.

  • “I looked like a wild creature. I had cuts and bruises and scrapes all over my body… And then Patrick and I, once we were both clean and dry and comfortable, it was just this incredible feeling to be home… Like, it was all just these flashes of memory that I… couldn’t stop thinking about.” (37:28, Erin)

• Lasting Psychological Impact:
  Even after safety, sounds of fireworks trigger acute anxiety; the group wonders how they will ever feel safe again.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Survival Instincts:
  “I just got down on one knee and, like, did the whole thing and asked him to marry me. And. And he said yes. And we, like, hugged. And I remember I was, like, shaking because I was nervous. I was ready to pull that ring out of my pocket.” (02:19, Erin)

• On Realizing the Scope of Trauma:
  “We didn’t all have the same flood happen to us... the river had separated us all, and we were now on our own.” (02:30, Erin)

• On Resignation & Hopelessness:
  “It was just such a long shot for anybody to survive it that I kept saying to myself, I’m going to have to live the rest of my life without my family.” (03:33, Aaron)

• On Heroic Motherhood:
  “Alyssa was able to hang on to Rosemary and somehow push her up in the tree and stay in the same tree like that is just a miracle and just another example of how strong she is, how heroic she was in that moment.” (13:43, Erin)

• On the Haunting Aftereffects:
  “With each explosion, I woke up in a panic. I didn’t hear colorful bursts in the night. I heard the banging of debris hitting the river house. I felt the walls shake. I was certain our home was going to come apart. It was hard. Like, how are we ever going to feel safe again?” (39:44, Erin)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:24 – 02:19 – Erin’s engagement story, a flashback to pre-flood happiness
• 02:30 – 04:05 – House destruction, family fragmented by flood
• 05:21 – 06:27 – Family members reuniting in the trees, mutual encouragement
• 11:22 – 14:18 – Realization Rosemary survived, confirming Clay is missing
• 16:03 – 17:54 – Alyssa communicates their status to Alex; confusion gives way to shock as the true tragedy sinks in
• 19:34 – 20:44 – Aaron’s (dad) journey to a stranger’s house, receiving help from Will
• 25:05 – 26:24 – The improvised riverbank rescue with inner tubes and a daring drop from a tree
• 27:25 – 30:54 – The Marvins and Lopezes provide care, and the family receives medical attention and comfort
• 32:25 – 34:31 – Melissa recounts reuniting and comforting the traumatized family, moments of warmth
• 36:07 – 36:32 – The exhaustion and emotional aftermath on the ride home
• 37:28 – 39:44 – The ordeal of adjusting to safety, the challenge of feeling secure amid lingering fear
• 40:28 – Hints at deeper emotional changes for the future, setting up the next episode

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Tone & Language

The episode’s tone is raw, reflective, and, at times, poetic in its honesty. Speakers allow themselves to be vulnerable, oscillating between numb detachment and waves of emotion. Erin’s narration and the family’s voices maintain an anchored but compassionate tone, leaning on moments of dark humor, awe at their own resilience, and frankness about suffering. The inclusion of first-person dialogue adds immediacy and authenticity, welcoming the listener into both the chaos of the event and the private moments after.

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Conclusion

This episode of Where the River Took Us offers a profound exploration of personal and collective trauma, rescue, and recovery. Through gripping firsthand accounts and small acts of kindness, the family’s ordeal is rendered both unique and universally resonant. Their story is a testament to survival—not only of bodies, but of spirits, relationships, and hope—amid the floodwaters.

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Transcript

[Erin Parsley]

Before we get started, a warning that this show contains descriptions of subjects including child loss, drowning, and grief.

[Melissa Reese]

Texas monthly.

[Erin Parsley]

In December of 2021, I was at a Christmas party with Patrick. We were hanging out in the backyard of friend's house. It was one of those Texas winter days where you could actually spend time outside. And we were just having a conversation, and the topic of marriage came up. And prior to dating Patrick, I never really considered marriage, but in I don't know if it was because I was older, because, you know, I'd seen my sister get married, or because it was Patrick himself, that's when I knew that I was going to ask him to marry me. And I think I called my sister the very next day. I ultimately found this ring that I thought really suited him because it looks like tree bark on the outside and it's encased in white gold. So I bought it, and I was hanging onto it for a long time, and I couldn't figure out a way to pop the question. You know, I didn't have a plan. And so I suggested, well, why don't we drive out to Silver City, New Mexico, where his sister lives with her family and where Patrick lived for a couple years. And so I think he knew something was up. But we drove up into the mountains outside of Silver City and in the Gila National Forest, and we parked at the side of the road and kind of walked out to this lookout point. And Patrick was doing what he always does, which is like explore the little area, looking at the plants. And I was like, hey, can you come over here? Can you come over here? And I was standing on top of this boulder, like, overlooking this big valley. And he was like, what? What's going on? And so I just got down on one knee and, like, did the whole thing and asked him to marry me. And. And he said yes. And we, like, hugged. And I remember I was, like, shaking because I was nervous. I was ready to pull that ring

[Aaron]

out of my pocket.

[Erin Parsley]

I'd managed to climb into a tree above the water. But after the house broke apart, I had no idea what had happened to the rest of my family. We didn't all have the same flood happen to us. And I see that now and how it puts a strain on the family, you know, because there are different expectations and there are different experiences, and. And we didn't all go through the same thing. And it occurs to me that this is when it began. You know, the river had separated us all, and we were now on our own. Like me, my dad has a stretch of memory that is just gone.

[Aaron]

I think the front part of my brain stopped working because I don't remember anything till I'm crawling into this tree about 3/4 of a mile down.

[Erin Parsley]

These trees, which normally tower over the river and are so majestic, are now just poking over the water.

[Aaron]

I remember a house floating by that was like out of a horror movie. And I remember a car with its headlights on floating by with the headlights shining upwards. That was surreal. It was just such a long shot for anybody to survive it that I kept saying to myself, I'm going to have to live the rest of my life without my family. Because I was sure everybody was dead.

[Erin Parsley]

You had told me that you were thinking about, like, if I get out of this tree, I'm going to.

[Aaron]

Well, I said, what are you going to do if you don't have a family and what is your life going to be like? And for some stupid reason, one of the things that came to my mind was, well, I'm damn sure not going to practice law anymore. I just. I should have been hoping for everybody's survival, but it was just such an impossibility in my mind, the way the house broke up. There was other thoughts, of course, because the water was rising. I was in this little fork and my blue jeans got snared on some part of the tree and I couldn't get them unstuck. And so I wiggled my legs out of them and unfortunately my underwear went with them. And I ended up scooting up the tree with only my night shirt on. But it was a lot better than watching. The waters continued to come up. And then it started raining. That was really depressing. I didn't have a watch, I didn't have a phone, so I didn't really know what time it was.

[Lance]

I was hanging on a branch and I think Patrick saw my light and he was able to come over.

[Erin Parsley]

This is my brother in law, Lance.

[Alyssa]

There was suddenly this branch with a

[Erin Parsley]

light and my husband Patrick, they had both been swept downstream and somehow wound up finding each other in the river.

[Alyssa]

And I grabbed it and it turned out to be Lance was holding onto the same branch. To be honest, I'm surprised that it held us both.

[Lance]

We kind of helped each other get into the tree. And these are very tall trees. We were way up there. We were there for a good while.

[Alyssa]

I remember being worried about you, obviously, but telling myself that Aaron's gonna be okay. I saw him, he got out of the house. But like, I knew Rosemary and Clay were both gone. And Lance at one Point said something. He was just like. Like Rosemary, Clay, like, there's no way. And, you know, he was like, Alyssa. And

[Lance]

we both just thought everyone else was gone. You know, there's no way anyone else got out of this. Everyone's gone. What are we going home to? We didn't talk that much up in the tree. I mean, we were both just. We would scream for family members, everyone's names.

[Erin Parsley]

I was alone in another tree at this time, waiting for the sun to come up and the water to go down. I had no idea where anyone else was or whether they were still alive. I didn't know how widespread the flooding was. I didn't know when it was going to go down. So I was trying to ignore, I think, the screams. And, you know, at a certain point, you're looking around, you're seeing all this stuff kind of float by as the light begins to change. And below me, I could see parts of the tree that I used to get up here. I couldn't see them for a while, and now I can see them again. And I knew that that meant the water was going down. And I had no idea where I was, how far I'd come, or what part of the river I was on. And then I noticed this hill, probably around 30ft from where I was. And up the hill, there was a house. And I could see people moving around on the porch. And so I tried to call out for them, and it seemed like they couldn't hear me. They didn't seem to change their behavior. They must have known I was there already, and I realized that there was nothing they could do. And then I heard someone screaming nearby. I thought it was a little kid that was stuck in a tree somewhere, but I didn't respond. And I just was trying to stay calm and stay focused. At some point, I screamed for Patrick. And then after that, I remember hearing the other person scream. It's Alyssa. Somehow she and Rosemary had gotten into a tree, and I had been hearing her screaming, but I didn't know it was her. I think I said, are you okay? Who's there? Something like that. And I just remember her saying she's with Rosemary and that Clay is gone. But then I just started screaming at her, like, be strong. Hang in there. You have to survive this. We're gonna make it. Just trying to be encouraging. I don't know if she could hear me. I mean, it was loud all around us, and, you know, she was just, like, screaming in pain and desperation, you know, and it wasn't always audible what she Was saying, I do remember thinking that, you know, maybe. Maybe there's a chance that Clay is with his dad or that somebody has found him or that he's safe somehow. But I really. I really just needed to focus on what I did know was true, and that is that Alyssa and Rosemary were stuck in a tree nearby and that they were still alive, and we knew where they were, and we just had to get them to safety. And, you know, the water kept going down, it kept getting lighter. And then the next thing I remember is I saw Patrick. I just saw him, like, walking up the river bank, and he was wearing a tank top and shorts, and he had his shoes on, and he looked good. He looked kind of normal. And my God, it was such a relief.

[Lance]

Patrick was just hands down, amazing. He went into full search and rescue mode. He was ahead of me, and he ran down the bank.

[Erin Parsley]

Patrick spent four years in the Coast Guard, and I think that training must have helped him in this situation. But he's told me this is always how he's operated under pressure. Just totally focused on getting things done. When I saw Patrick walking up the shore, I was just so relieved. I couldn't believe that he was there. He had on all his clothes, and he was wearing his shoes, and the way he was walking, it was just unmistakable that it was him. And I started shouting at him, and, you know, I wanted to make sure he knew that Rosemary and Alyssa were nearby. And I said, just get them down. Help them. I'm fine.

[Alyssa]

And then Alyssa was in a tree maybe 50ft down from you. And then I remember seeing Rosemary in the tree, and that's when I started to cry. 1 It confirmed that Clay was gone, but also, like, it was just shocking that she was. That she made it. So then, like, Lance had gotten out of the river and caught up to me at this point, and I remember saying, like, rosemary's okay.

[Lance]

And I immediately started running faster, and it was like an obstacle course to get to y', all, because there's down trees, down stuff, down fences. You gotta run, jump, climb under, crawl under all that. And I just. You know, Alyssa had just said she didn't have Clay, though. And it just breaks us. It just goes into that.

[Alex]

She didn't have him.

[Lance]

And she was just like, where's Clay?

[Erin Parsley]

I don't know. Rosemary was sort of on her stomach with her arms and legs around a branch, and Alyssa was hanging onto the trunk of the tree. Her feet were up against the trunk, and she was kind of hugging her torso to the trunk. So she wasn't just sitting there. She was, like, hanging on. And I think initially she had some support from the water around her, but when the water started going down, she was just hanging on for dear life. And I know that. That. That was hard because at a certain point, I could hear her say. Say she didn't think she could hang on much longer. But the whole idea that Alyssa was able to hang on to Rosemary and somehow push her up in the tree and stay in the same tree like that is just a miracle and just another example of how strong she is, how heroic she was in that moment. And I. I don't think any of us will ever understand what it took. I know Alyssa doesn't remember it, but she somehow held onto her daughter and got her out of that water and onto that tree branch and stayed by her side. And it's incredible.

[Alyssa]

Alyssa was screaming, asking where Clay was. And I immediately started to think through, okay, how do we get them out?

[Lance]

They didn't have much to hold onto. Rosemary was wrapped around it, you know, holding onto a branch. Alyssa was just standing, holding onto the trunk in a branch. It was very deep, and it was very fast.

[Erin Parsley]

And so I watched almost like. Almost like a TV show or something. I could just see them kind of moving up and down the riverbank, trying to figure out how to get Alyssa and Rosemary out. By then, it was pretty light out. And the couple in the house, I know now who they are, it's Mike and Mickey Marvins, were tossing down stuff that Patrick and Lance might be able to use. I think they tossed down a life jacket, and Lance tied it up with a rope and was trying to throw it up to Alyssa.

[Lance]

And the plan was to put that life jacket on Rosemary and toss her down for us to catch. But I just couldn't get any ground to get enough force behind it to throw it up to them. But then, you know, I ended up letting go of the rope accidentally, and then the life jacket was gone.

[Alyssa]

I saw a kayak floating by, and I swam out and grabbed it, thinking maybe we could paddle to them, but it still just wasn't. It was still moving too quickly that you couldn't really control it.

[Erin Parsley]

There was, like, a downed tree right between the bank and where I was, and Patrick was climbing up on that, but the water was just still too high.

[Alyssa]

I think I remember telling Lance, we're going to have to wait until the water goes down more. And then you asked if I've seen your dad. And that's when I decided. I was like, we can't do anything right here. I am going to try and go look for Clint.

[Erin Parsley]

And I just, I screamed at him like, be careful. This whole time, my stepmom Alex was in Colorado with her family on the night of the 3rd and the morning of the 4th, she was watching her two grandkids while her son and her daughter in law were at a concert.

[Alex]

And so I was in charge of the girls and they wanted me to sleep in the bedroom upstairs so I'd be closer to them. And so like at 4:00 clock in the morning or something, Louise says, grandma, Grandma, Puff's lost her pacifier. You gotta find her pacifier. So I was just like, oh, my God. And I looked at my phone because I wanted to see what time it was. And I saw there was a text from Patrick. And I thought, this is weird. So I looked at the text and it was just gibberish. And so I texted back two question marks.

[Alyssa]

While in the tree, I had texted Alex. I had my phone in my pocket still, and it was still on and still working. But my text was really incoherent because it was all wet. And so at this point, I pulled my phone out and she had sent me a text and it was just like question marks. And I called her and I said, what's up? It was probably pretty incoherent still. And I was just like, the river house flooded.

[Alex]

He kept saying, the house is gone. There's been a terrible flood. We found some people, but we can't find others. And my brain was not fathoming what was going on.

[Erin Parsley]

Alex knew about the problems with the water pump, and so that's where her mind went first.

[Alex]

I thought, well, maybe the water had turned on and flooded the inside of the house. And I thought, why is he in such a twit over water in the house?

[Alyssa]

I slowed down and I was like, the river house washed away. We were all sucked underwater.

[Alex]

Finally I figured out what was going on. And he said, well, let me stop and talk. And he said he had seen everybody, but Clay was gone. And he mentioned everybody's name, but he did not mention Clint's name. And this is hard. Sorry. I finally said, you know, what about? And I could not even say Clint's name. It was such a shock that my brain was not even coming up with his name. And I said, what about my husband?

[Alyssa]

And she just started saying, where's my husband? And I was like, I don't know.

[Alex]

He said, we haven't seen Clint. And I thought, oh, my God, he's gone.

[Erin Parsley]

My dad had been in his tree alone, waiting out the sunrise about a quarter mile from the rest of us.

[Aaron]

And then it did start getting lighter. You could see some activity on the shore too, by then. And I was shivering and shaking. And I'd had hypothermia once in the. In the Rockies. And I knew that you don't want to go there. I determined that I was either going to go into shock from hypothermia or I was going to swim. And as it turns out, the current wasn't as swift as I thought it might be.

[Erin Parsley]

And then how did you end up in somebody's house swimming to shore?

[Aaron]

Took. Took me right in the direction of two houses. And the one that was the closest a guy had come out. And he welcomed me into his home. And there was three or four or five other people there. His name was Will. Really nice guy. Gave me some. I think it was Gatorade. And I slammed it down. And he gave me some shorts and some sandals that his grandmother owned. They were a little small, but much appreciated.

[Erin Parsley]

Did you talk to some of the other folks that were there?

[Aaron]

Not really. I was in pretty much shock by then. There was one couple that came in after me and they were trapped in their own mobile home for I don't know how long. And then I'm listening to them talk and she mentioned that the little one was moving around. And it came up that she was six months pregnant. And it just flabbergasted me. And he called his dad and interesting to see how he broke the news to his dad. He'd said that he'd lost everything, but he and his wife were alive.

[Erin Parsley]

How long were you there before Patrick showed up?

[Aaron]

Probably 15 minutes, 20. I remember him coming around the corner and asking about a tall, skinny guy or an old guy or something like that. And Will said, he's right inside.

[Alyssa]

I'll never forget the way he looked. And I. He got up and came over to me. I remember I put my hands on his shoulders and I said, Aaron's okay, Alyssa's okay, Lance is okay, and Rosemary is okay, but Clay is gone.

[Aaron]

And that's when we both broke down. Really just non verbal kind of anguished relief, just excruciating sensation.

[Alex]

It was much sooner than it felt like Patrick called me again and I

[Alyssa]

was telling her, I found Clint. And I gave the phone to your dad.

[Aaron]

And I couldn't talk to her. I was just incapable of articulating anything. And I kind of had to hang up on Alex. I said, I'm sorry. I just can't talk.

[Alex]

And I heard his voice, but he said, I just can't talk now. And I said, I understand.

[Aaron]

And so we just sat there shaking and, you know, got my breath back. And I was going to sit there and wait until somebody told me what to do.

[Alyssa]

And I said, I'm just gonna leave my phone. I need to go back and try to figure out how to get you guys out of the tree.

[Erin Parsley]

When Patrick returned, I decided it was time for me to get out. I told him, I'm gonna jump in. The water was still moving pretty quickly. My God. There were cars, there were broken up pieces of homes, there were root systems that had been pulled out of the ground all around. So he wanted to make sure there was no debris hidden under the surface of the water in the spot where I would land if I jumped. So I watched him wade into the water, and he got up up to, like, his chest or his shoulders, and he had a stick, and he was like feeling around, like, trying to make sure that there was nothing under there. But by then the water had gone down so far that I was like really high up in the tree. And I got down as far as I could. And I don't know, I'm sure it wasn't very graceful, but I kind of just like dangled myself off of that last branch and kicked my feet off the trunk and splashed down and I was able to swim to shore. This whole time, Rosemary had been clinging to the tree branch and Alyssa had been hanging onto the tree trunk,

[Aaron]

kind

[Erin Parsley]

of floating in the water. They both were cold, and once the water level dropped, they were way up there, like maybe 20ft in the air. Alyssa had been holding herself up, hanging on sometimes with one arm, and I know that she was struggling to stay up there. So we came up with a new plan.

[Lance]

We were worried about Rosemary being hypothermic and Alyssa, too. And at this point, like, they were really needing to get down.

[Erin Parsley]

Mike Marvin was still looking around his house for anything that could help.

[Lance]

Then Mr. Marvin had these inner tubes with a bottom, and Patrick found a water hose that was like a very long 50 foot water hose. He tied up to that inner tube,

[Alyssa]

and I climbed up onto that downed tree that was up from Melissa, and I tied the water hose to a branch and then told Lance to hold onto that water hose. And he waded out with an inner tube that had a netted bottom and got under the tree.

[Lance]

My job was to get out as close as I could to the tree they were in. And mind you, the water level had dropped. They were about 20ft up in the air, so they're way up there.

[Erin Parsley]

And I went downriver in case Rosemary bounced out of the inner tube or missed it all together and started moving down with the current. I was going to tried to grab her, but Lance got right underneath. And I could see Alyssa and Rosemary up there. And Alyssa just pried her arms off of the tree and picked her up

[Lance]

and just had to drop your kid.

[Erin Parsley]

And we watched. I can still see it, like, almost in slow motion. She fell probably 20ft.

[Alyssa]

She landed pretty hard. And that was the first time that she cried a little bit right in

[Erin Parsley]

the middle of the inner tube, like

[Lance]

a direct hit, exactly where it should be. So she did a fantastic job.

[Erin Parsley]

As soon as Lance had Rosemary, Alyssa just let go and fell right in. And I grabbed her and helped her come to shore. And there we were, all of us just standing on this waterlogged grass at the edge of this river. But certainly we were all in shock and all just sort of bewildered and traumatized.

[Alyssa]

And at some point, I was like, okay, I'm gonna go get Clint. The house that he was in was just up the road.

[Aaron]

Basically, Patrick came back, and we walked from there up to the road. It was just real dark, and I was just stumbling along. And then we got up to the house where y' all were, and I came around the corner and heard Alyssa sobbing. And that's when we all reunited.

[Erin Parsley]

This older couple, the Marvins, welcomed us into their home and brought us water, some granola bars and cookies and things like that. And they had towels, and we wanted to make sure to get one to Rosemary right away. She was kind of blue in the face, like she was cold. I kneeled down and put my hands on her shoulders, and I said, I can't believe you did that. You're so strong. You're so brave. We're so proud of you. Stuff like that. Just, like, trying to be encouraging. Alyssa was distraught, and, you know, she was thinking about Clay. Where's Clay? He can't swim. I think we were just trying to calm her down, to let her know that, you know, there's nothing we can do right now. We'll look for him when we can. It's just. It's just picking up the pieces. About that time, another couple who lived in the area, Chris and Jennifer Lopez, saw my dad and Patrick walking back to the house, and they ended up coming to see if anyone needed help. Jennifer is a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and she works at the state hospital in Kerrville. The biggest town around there, about nine miles downriver. So she had a lot of experience in dealing with people in distress. Jennifer was very careful in the way that she spoke with us. She asked permission, you know, if she could touch us or is this okay? She asked very simple, easy questions about what we'd been through. I think trying to assess whether or not we were injured in some way that wasn't visible. Alyssa was staring off into space, and at times she was, you know, kind of wailing and crying. And Jennifer was able to look me in the eye and tell me that what Alyssa was experiencing, given all that had happened, was normal. And, you know, it doesn't make you feel better, but there is comfort in understanding that this may be the worst thing we've ever been through, but, you know, it's going to get better, and that what we're experiencing is the normal response. And Chris also brought a box full of clothes for all of us. I think he gave me the shoes that he was wearing off his feet so that I had shoes to put on. And, you know, I'm still really grateful for what they offered my family and me. And this. What was the most difficult moments of our lives. Even before we got out of the river, the Marvins had called 911. And I called again on Chris's phone to report Clay missing. So we were just waiting for an ambulance to come or anybody to come to help us answer questions about what do we do now? And to get ourselves out of the area. I was also really concerned about Alyssa. The fire department finally came, and, you know, they did some initial checks to make sure physically that we were okay. And Patrick and I rode up front in this truck, and they took us to Ingram Elementary School, which had been designated a reunification center. My dad had a cut on his forehead, and Lance's finger was sliced open and bleeding. And we needed to make sure that Alyssa was okay. So at the reunification center, we were briefly evaluated, and then an ambulance arrived, and they took us to a hospital in Fredericksburg. It was a really long drive. Alyssa was unconscious most of the time, and the EMT had to really shake her to wake her up a couple times. It was scary. And, you know, I was worried for Rosemary to have to see her mom like that. My dad got stitches. Lance's finger got cleaned out, and Alyssa was being monitored. Patrick and I sat with Rosemary in the waiting room. She was calm. She was being really sweet. They had a basket of snacks, and she wanted to eat some Cheez Its. And, you know, we were just making sure she had what she needed. I think she got really bored. She was playing with like a pen. We didn't have any toys. She didn't even have clothes. She was wearing this big T shirt that I think Chris had given her that fit her like a dress. At some point, Patrick told me he had already called Melissa. Melissa is a good friend of mine. I've known her since elementary school. She's like family to me. We're extremely close and we have been for decades. I don't know what made Patrick decide he was going to call her, but he did. She lives in Austin too, and said she'd come pick us up. Patrick, Rosemary and I were in the emergency department waiting room. When she showed up, I got up and ran towards her. We hugged and cried. To see someone familiar with concern on their face, who is dry, who is in her normal clothes, who is not distraught in the same way that we were. It was just overwhelming. The gratitude and relief.

[Melissa Reese]

You were all wearing funny clothes. Little Rosemary, I remember going up to her and asking her, did you lose your glasses? And she was just so sweet in her big, giant adult sized T shirt. My rambunctious boys, I guess you don't know until you're in a situation like that. But I cannot imagine them sitting still like that and just patient and quiet and waiting. She didn't have anything to do and it didn't occur to me to bring anything. So I went and retrieved the well loved Etch A Sketch from my car. And she played with that for a while.

[Erin Parsley]

I think Lance came out and said that they needed a prescription filled at HEB and we took the three of us, you, Patrick and me, and I took Rosemary to the HEB in Fredericksburg.

[Melissa Reese]

Yeah. And we got there and Rosemary jumped in a grocery cart. She was happy to ride in that. And I think we left you guys at the pharmacy and I took her to go get some pull ups and she picked out some Disney ones. And she whispered in my ear, she said, I really don't wear these anymore. And I said, I know, but Heb doesn't have anything else for you right now. This is what we got. And she was fine with that. And then we went and looked for shoes and they had summer water shoes out. And I think she picked out Star wars crocs that were maybe even a size too small. But she was super happy about them. And she held my hand and she asked for Tio. And she's just. She's the sweetest.

[Erin Parsley]

Something that I started telling myself is that Alyssa saved Rosemary's life. And I knew very, very early on that in a way, Rosemary was going to save her life. Thank God for Rosemary, that she was still here with us, that she was alive. People always say kids, kids are resilient. And it's true. But like, I'd never seen it in this way.

[Melissa Reese]

I remember leaving the hospital and seeing your sister for the first time and she looked really broken. That was really hard. I remember hugging her in the front seat of the car and just telling her that I knew she was going to get through this and it was going to be okay. But it was hard and deep down I just didn't know. I couldn't see how you survived something like that and keep going. The drive home, it rained the whole way. I remember 10 and 2 just being scared of my precious cargo and wanting to get everybody home safe and driving the speed limit on the right side and trying to follow all the rules. I remember being nervous about what music to put on. I wished Apple had a playlist for that moment. I think I just played a really nice Nelson Station or something.

[Erin Parsley]

Were you ever worried about Patrick and me?

[Melissa Reese]

I was, I was. I felt like Patrick was going to move on quickly without processing it. And that worried me as well. I remember he was already talking about, you know, he was trying to deal with insurance and trying to get a new car and just the logistics of getting on with life, which isn't a bad thing. I kind of think I would be the same. Very similar, but I worried that it was going to come back and he would feel it later.

[Erin Parsley]

I think Patrick was in the front. You were driving, and my dad and I were in the back. And I remember looking at my dad and realizing we're all crashing right now. I don't know if the shock or the adrenaline is wearing off, but I could just see it in my dad's face that he was suddenly very tired. And then I realized, like, I'm in the same boat. Do you remember that drive home?

[Aaron]

Oh, not really. I remember sitting in the backseat and just kind of, you know, a kind of a vegetative state. We didn't get back till about 5. Alex was on the way back from Colorado and she got there about 30 or 45 minutes later.

[Alex]

And my brother and sister in law had brought food. Apparently they got there right when he did. So there was this kind of crowd at the front door and I just wanted to get in to see him. And I mean, Clint had a bunch of bruises and little scratches and he had some stitches on his forehead. But, you know, just the fact that he'd gone through that and he was there was just incredible.

[Aaron]

We just hugged and cried, and, you know, eventually I tried to tell her what the experience was like.

[Erin Parsley]

After Melissa dropped the Patrick and me off, we were home, and we were hungry, and we were tired, and I think we ordered a ridiculous amount of food from a taco place. And I wanted to get clean. You know, I was wearing these oversized clothes that Chris had given me, and I went to the bathroom, and for the first time, I saw myself in the mirror. And that was pretty crazy. I looked like a wild creature. I had cuts and bruises and scrapes all over my body. And I took a hot shower, and it was wild to see how much residue and grit came off me. I think I was still cleaning dirt out of my ears for, like, days. And then Patrick and I, once we were both clean and dry and comfortable, it was just this incredible feeling to be home. We tried to watch a movie, but we kept stopping it because we wanted to talk about what happened. Our minds were just replaying every image from the morning. Like, it was all just these flashes of memory that I. That I couldn't stop thinking about. And so we would stop the movie and just be like, I just remember this. I just remember that kind of filling in the timeline and talking about it and kind of questioning, how could this happen? How did this happen? We had no idea. And, you know, I don't think we got it. 20 minutes into the movie, I. I just remember feeling kind of giddy, you know, to be home and comfortable in bed and alive and. And that my husband was there, and I. I was getting really sleepy, and Patrick kind of stayed up reading a little bit. At one point, he turned off his light, and he flipped the switch, and it makes this little pop, and then it goes dark. And it startled me. And I kind of sat up in bed and asked him if we had lost power. Like, I just thought it was, you know, the storm had taken the power out in our house. And he was like, no. I just turned off the lights. And then I felt kind of silly. And I was laying there in bed, and I realized how quiet it was and that it had finally stopped raining. Not long after I fell asleep, the fireworks began. With each explosion, I woke up in a panic. I didn't hear colorful bursts in the night. I heard the banging of debris hitting the river house. I felt the walls shake. I was certain our home was going to come apart. It was hard. Like, how are we ever going to feel safe again? On the next episode of where the River Took Us to see, my brother sort of stripped down in that way and just knowing. Just knowing that maybe he had just been scared for the first time in

[Alex]

his life to that degree. And I. I just knew that he

[Melissa Reese]

was changed, and I knew that all

[Erin Parsley]

of you were going to be different. Where the River Took Us is a Texas monthly production written and hosted by me, Erin Parsley. Executive producer is Melissa Reese. Product produced and edited by Patrick Michaels and Sarah Kinney. Produced, engineered and scored by Brian Standifer. Story editing by J.K. nichol. Fact checking by Doyen Oyeni. Art by Emily Kimbrough and Victoria Milner. Studio musicians are Jeff Queen and Peter Schultz.