INGRAM, Texas — Ten concrete slabs line an empty lot in Ingram, Texas. It’s where trailers used to be before the Guadalupe River flooded on July 4, 2025.
If you walk down the dirt road next to it, you’ll find a tree, a tree that’s important to Christina Wilson.
“Julian’s dad planted it,” Wilson said. “It’s one of the first things he pointed out to me when we first got together and I came over. He was real excited about it.”
This is where she started dating her fiancé, Julian Ryan. It’s also where she lost him in the floodwaters that engulfed their trailer along the Guadalupe River last July.
“Any time I’m really missing him, this is where I feel closest to him,” Wilson said.
Their story of that terrifying night starts like so many others.
“My oldest came in screaming that there was water in the house,” said Wilson.
But this story became both terrifying and heartbreaking.
“We had about, I wanna say about that much room between the roof and the water,” Wilson said, while showing about a foot of space. “He [Ryan] panicked and went and tried to punch the window and cut his arm.”
Julian Ryan tried to save his family, but he never made it out of that trailer. The blood loss from his injury was too severe.
“It was crazy trying to understand that he was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. It’s still hard,” Wilson said.
At 24 years old, with three kids, stricken with grief and overwhelmed with trauma, Wilson had trouble navigating the recovery process.
“Everyone keeps telling me to speak my truth and accept the help that’s out there, and I didn’t do that at first. I thought I could do it on my own. I got very overwhelmed,” said Wilson.
She appreciates the help she has received, but still isn’t sure what the next step will be. She has even considered moving back to the same spot where they were during the flood.
“There was a program opening where I might be able to get into a home and own it if I came back to this property specifically,” said Wilson.
It’s not something she’s fully onboard with, but it might be her only option to give herself and kids a sense of normalcy.
“I want somewhere where my kids can be safe, where they can be home, where they can grow up. I just want what they haven’t had since,” Wilson said.
There’s uncertainty and there’s doubt, but there’s also something Ryan left her. She’s hoping that’s enough to see her through this difficult time.
“I just wish I could tell him thank you. Thank you for the strength and the love,” Wilson said.