PLANO, Texas — Home video shows the moment when water flooded Dulce Bobadilla's apartment that she shared with her parents and her daughter.
“The storm collapsed all the pipes and burst, so water was coming through the ceiling, the ceiling collapsed and water just coming like a fountain,” said Bobadilla.
The freezing water poured into her mother's room. Her mother was sick with cancer and was already having a hard time.
"It was scary because my mom was in the room, in her bedroom it was coming through and it was cold. It was freezing. It was below zero that day,” said Bobadilla.
The family had to get out. Dulce moved her sick mom to a friend's home, but then they lost power.
“They didn't have power as well. They were freezing,” said Bobadilla.
So, she had to move her mom and the rest of the family to a motel, but she knew then that her mom was dying. Bobadilla moved her mom, yet again, to another friend's home.
"For me, I'm so grateful for the person because it could have been sadder if my mom passed away in a motel,” said Bobadilla.
Dulce's dad stayed at the motel. She and her daughter separated and moved in with friends, because they have nowhere else to go.
When Bobadilla's boss, Cheryl Jackson at Minnie's Food Pantry heard what happened, she just jumped into action.
"My heart just dropped because I didn't know it happened, and then I heard her mom died, and I said come to Minnie's immediately,” said Jackson.
Minnie’s is where Dulce has worked since April, after the restaurant where she was a waitress closed because of the pandemic. Jackson said Minnie’s has helped serve over 5 million meals and Dulce was among those helping and making it happen.
"This woman is a warrior, feeding our community with us and she's lost everything,” said Jackson.
Dulce's mother didn't have life insurance for a funeral and all her belongings are gone.
"I lost everything in my apartment, but I didn't really care about material things. All I cared about was my mom,” said Bobadilla.
Minnie's Food Pantry is raising money so Dulce can bury her mom, and they are also paying for a place for her and her father to reunite and live together.
They hope that maybe in the midst of this life's storm, the family will begin to find some peace and know they are not alone.