It’s Mother’s Day and Camillo Diplacido is busy, but he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Just a few days ago, his nearly 40-year-old flower shop on Pierrefonds Boulevard was engulfed by water.
“Luckily, it didn’t affect my greenhouse or my store,” said Diplacido, the owner of Camille Fleuriste. “But there was no way people were able to come, from the back or from the front.”
To make matters worse, the 83-year-old and his family have been living in a hotel for the last 10 days, after he was forced to leave his home on Île Mercier when water began seeping into his basement.
“I have not gone home yet — my son went to check it,” he said. “Whatever I have in the basement… it’s garbage.”
Having both his business and his home hit by the flooding was extremely discouraging, Diplacido said.
“I felt like, ‘Holy smoke, what’s gonna happen?'” he said.
WATCH BELOW: Flooding in Pierrefonds
When clients heard what happened, they wanted to help the only way they knew how.
“We talked about going to a bigger store, like Costco, and I said, ‘Wsaidell, why not go to Camille?” Pierrefonds resident Nicolas Surprenant said. “I know the flood came right here — I knew they’d be affected, so I wanted to encourage them.”
Even with numerous streets closed around the store, people made sure to find a way there.
“We made it our mission to get here today,” said Sebastien Pitruzzello, another Pierrefonds resident. “We said, ‘it’s gonna be an adventure,’ but we made it here to support them.”
Diplacido can’t thank the community enough for their support — especially considering one of the busiest days of the year for him was nearly wiped out.
“Thanks to every one of them,” he said. “Really, from the bottom of my heart, I say thanks.”