Single Mom Saves 3-Year-Old Son’s Teddy Bear Before 'Forever' Home Destroyed by Floodwaters

Anna Lazarus Caplan

21 August 2024 at 6:05 pm·2-min read

Rushing water from a nearby stream destroyed the Connecticut home Randi Marcucio shared with her son on Sunday, Aug. 18

<p>gofundme</p> Marcucio family home destroyed by flooding — gofundme
Marcucio family home destroyed by flooding

A single mom from Connecticut was able to save a very important item from her home before it was destroyed by floodwaters over the weekend.

“I got my son’s teddy bear, but we didn’t go too hard grabbing everything because we didn’t think it would come to this,” homeowner Randi Marcucio told ABC affiliate WTNH.

Marcucio, an ER nurse, bought the home on East Hill Road in Oxford two years ago, per the outlet.

But, according to a GoFundMe set up to help the single parent, in an instant, "the normally idyllic stream next to her house rose to completely demolish the base of their home, washing away all of their possessions."

The Connecticut flash flooding resulted in the deaths of two women, 65-year-old Ethelyn Joiner and 71-year-old Audrey Rostkowski, who were swept away by rising water in the area on Sunday, Aug. 18, NBC affiliate WVIT and CBS affiliate WFSB reported.

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Nearly a foot of rain fell in some parts of the Tri-State area as severe thunderstorms moved through the area, according to NBC News.

<p>gofundme</p> The family's destroyed home — gofundme
The family's destroyed home

Marcucio told WTNH that her 3-year-old son Riley didn’t know the extent of what they lost — and that she is still struggling to wrap her head around the loss of what was supposed to be "our forever home."

"I don’t know how to tell him," she said.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 21, the family's GoFundMe page has raised over $150,000 in donations.

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