A baby that survived the deadly Oso, Washington landslide last March continues to inspire a community still reeling from the loss.
Duke Suddarth was only five months old when he and his mother, Amanda Skorjanc, were swept away by the mudslide. Miraculously, both survived.
On the morning of March 22, 2014, a landslide covered the unincorporated neighbourhood of Steelhead Haven, four miles east of Oso. Nearly 50 homes and other structures are destroyed, and 43 people were killed. Skorjanc said she is haunted by the memory.
"I live with it every day," she admitted. "I think about who was at the house next door and I think about everyone that passed, and I remember the pain I was in and what I was thinking when it hit."
Skorjanc's house was swept away, and she and Duke were pinned under debris. "He was dirty, and a little blue," she recounted.
The mother screamed for help, and a good Samaritan took the baby and promised to get help for her.
Duke had a skull fracture, and required several surgeries, but is doing well.
"They checked him three months ago I think, and said they didn't want to see him for a year, so that's huge," Skorjanc said. "They said he's doing great, his injuries are all healing up good."
The courageous mum suffered a broken ankle and arm, and a foot laceration. There are screws in her ankle and she reported being in constant pain. Duke is her reason to keep going.
"He's the reason I do everything," she said.
"Everything. The second I see him, I smile, every morning. No matter how much pain I'm in, I look at him and I smile."
Those in the Oso area celebrate Duke's milestones, and see him as a beacon of hope and symbol of the community's future.
"He is a light in something that was so dark and sad in a lot of people's lives," Skorjanc said. "He's the light, the little bit of hope that everybody had."
