BREVARD COUNTY, Florida — Michael's devastation on the Panhandle has one affected family deciding to move all the way to Brevard County permanently.

"I can't face it," said Carolynn O'Neill, as the thought of returning to her Panama City Beach condo is overwhelming her. "I can't. Is that a bad thing? I don't know."

Days after the storm struck, she still doesn't know its fate.

Almost as much as when officials told beachside residents a mandatory evacuation was in place, O’Neill, her son John and grandson Jeremiah had to leave.

"I was scared," O'Neill told Spectrum News. "And I kind of got panicky. I didn't know where to go."

O'Neill experienced Hurricane Opal 23 years ago. It was the very day she gave birth to her son in the hospital.

"I was safe then; (I) didn't feel safe this time at all," she said.

Things changed when her brother-in-law Ed Donges of Palm Bay offered to take them in. The trio moved into his home right across from Christa McAuliffe Elementary School.

In fact, they've decided to stay in Palm Bay.

Eight-year-old Jeremiah is now enrolled in the school, and his first day is Tuesday.

Now the soon-to-be Palm Bay residents, who escaped a devastating storm, need a home to call their own once again.

"As much help as we can get would be wonderful," O'Neill said.

O'Neill's family is heading to her Panhandle condo this weekend to salvage anything that's left.

If you’d like to help the family, contact Ed Donges at 321-216-1967.