NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A Pasco County family is recovering from the storms.

A week before, mother Kayla Miller had an even more terrifying experience when a tree fell and struck her head.

She survived the tragic event with help from her children.

What You Need To Know

  • Kayla Miller suffered a tragic accident a week before Hurricane Helene hit the Bay area

  • A tree fell and hit Kayla in the head, knocking her unconscious

  • Kayla’s children quickly helped giving her CPR and calling first responders

Weeks later, Miller returned to her Port Richey home, devastated by Hurricane Helene, and showed off the storm damage.

“So, this is what’s left of the house,” Kayla said. “Everything has to be replaced.”

Miller and her family are still getting their lives in order after Helene. The storm displaced them, bringing 6 feet of surge into their home.

They are now staying at her mother’s house Christina Miller, who is also tending to Kayla Miller’s wounds.

A week before Helene, another tragedy had already hit. A dead tree branch fell.

The family went outside to check it out.

Miller’s boys climbed onto the roof. Unknowingly, Miller was in harm’s way.

“Then out of nowhere, another tree from behind swung around, and that’s the last thing I remember,” she said.

Andrew Miller is Kayla Miller’s second oldest at 12 years old and describes what he saw.

“Like this big all around,” gestured Andrew Miller with his hands signaling about 2 feet of width. “It was a really big tree.”

And he told Spectrum Bay News 9 what was going through his mind at the moment.

“Me and my brother were just panicking. Then my brother jumps off the roof literally like Spider-Man, clears the bushes by the house,” Andrew Miller said. “He goes and calls 911 and starts giving her CPR because she wasn’t breathing.”

Landon Miller is 13 and said the dispatcher guided him through the process.

He had just learned CPR a week before the accident.

“How to do CPR, like how fast to do it,” said Landon Miller about what he was hearing from the dispatcher.

While Landon Miller was taking care of their mother, Andrew Miller went inside to take care of their younger sisters.

“I just had to try my best to keep them from seeing her like that out there in the yard,” Andrew Miller said.

Doctors removed part of Kayla’s skull to reduce the swelling. She said she was on life support for 24 hours.

Had it not been for her boys’ quick actions, Kayla Miller said she would not be here today.

“Even one minute makes a difference,” she said. “So, it means a lot that he was able to do what he did, and I know that it made a difference.”

The family is still unable to live in their home because of the storms.

Kayla Miller, who said her boy’s bravery was significant, also said they have weathered worse and looks forward to returning to the house, which holds extra significance now.

“We’ve lost everything. Just hoping we can get it together and get back home,” she said. “Even though something tragic happened here, my kids really came through.”