Farmer rescues toddler from Indiana basement during deadly floods

Miracle for little girl, two years old, after horrified mom found her drowning in basement during devastating Indiana floods that killed at least seven others. A precious toddler survived only because her mother discovered her flailing in floodwaters inside their Rush County home. The water had surged so high the family was trapped while days of relentless rain overwhelmed the state. Little Alayna became stuck as her house filled with rushing liquid, her aunt Poshia told a GoFundMe page started by the child's relative.

Becky, the mother, and thirteen-year-old brother Liem were inside when the father stayed away from home. Liem dialed 911 instantly while Becky pressed compressions on Alayna's chest to keep blood moving. Emergency crews could not drive up to the property because floodwaters blocked every road. A local farmer drove his tractor through the muck to reach them and pull the girl out of harm's way. She flew straight to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital where she now sits in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Doctors put her on a ventilator right away but removed an EEG monitor after Saturday showed no signs of seizure activity. Alayna caught a bacterial infection deep inside her lungs from the dirty water, yet by Sunday her family announced she was breathing without help. She completed breathing trials successfully including one stretch where she breathed completely on her own for thirty-one minutes before passing her second test today. Her oxygen levels are climbing and she has started crying again which brings relief to everyone watching.

Hearing her cry after everything she has been through is a sound we never imagined we would be so grateful to hear, her aunt said in a statement released online. Although she has greatly improved the toddler still runs a small fever likely linked to the infection she contracted from the incident. There is still a long road ahead for our sweet girl and we know we are not out of the woods yet, but today marks a huge victory according to updates on their social media page. As of Sunday afternoon more than twelve thousand dollars had been raised to help her family with mounting medical bills and treatments for Alayna.

At least seven people lost their lives in these floods including Matthew Morey eighteen years old Stephanie Jo Sallee fifty-eight and James Briar a thirty-one-year-old bicyclist officials confirmed. A four-year-old boy died after a tree fell on him and a woman was struck and killed by fallen debris from a roof reports stated. Two other females also died their identities remain unknown at this time. Matthew Morey's body was recovered on Saturday from the Mississinewa River after he was reported missing said the Delaware County Sheriff's Office. Search efforts for the eighteen-year-old began after he and a group of people jumped into the water near Muncie on Wednesday officials said. It is unclear why they jumped into the water.

Sheriff's deputies managed to pull three people from the danger zone, yet they could not find Morey. The search for him was called off on Thursday because of dangerous conditions and these 'once in a lifetime' sweeping floods. It is a grim reality when nature takes such a heavy toll.

Stephanie Jo Sallee and her dog Faith also died in the flood after she was driving a vehicle 'through moving water' on the road, Jeff Stanley, the chief deputy of the Delaware County Sheriff's Department, said. Jo Sallee, 58, was found in a cornfield after her car got swept away. Her pug, Faith, was found deceased inside the vehicle on Saturday afternoon.

Police believe that she tried to exit her vehicle after it was swept into the field before being 'overcome by the moving water,' Stanley said. The loss is felt deeply by those who knew her. Her family has remembered her as someone with a big heart who 'never judged people.' As one tribute noted, 'She persevered many trials in her life and remained a compassionate and loving person.' They added that her family meant the world to her and she adored her nephews and grandkids and great grandkids! I will miss her deeply.

James Briar, 31, also died after he rode his bike around flooded barricades and onto a collapsed road that fell apart due to heavy rainfall, the New Castle Mayor's Office confirmed. The situation on the ground has become too unstable for anyone to remain safe. These events show how quickly conditions can turn against the public when regulations fail or weather strikes with such force.

And yet, people keep trying to move forward even as they face these tragedies. We must ask ourselves if there are enough warnings in place before roads collapse under heavy rain.