ORLANDO, Fla. -- For many Puerto Ricans who now call Florida home, they were never expecting to be here for the long run.

"We expected to be here on a short vacation, a visit with family," said Rosy Ward, who came to Orlando right after Hurricane Irma with her son. 

Ward said she was without power for more than a week.

"I don't feel like it was a major hurricane, I feel like it was a strong storm," she said.

Seeing how things played out with what she thought was a strong storm, she couldn't imagine what things would look like when the next storm was announced. 

The plan was to stay in Florida for about two to three weeks to wait out the next storm, Hurricane Maria. 

"We start hearing that another hurricane approaching Puerto Rico, and of course I was hysterical," Ward said.

At that point power hadn't been restored, her son was out of school and her work was slowing down. 

Ward and her husband decided she would come to Florida with their son to wait out Hurricane Maria, while her husband stayed behind to take care of her father-in-law.

"I remember thinking Hurricane Maria was going to be bad. I mean, I've lived through hurricanes before, but this was different," she said. 

The original plan was to stay in Orlando for no longer than three weeks until things settled down in the island after Hurricane Maria. But plans quickly changed as the Category 5 hurricane destroyed most of the island.

Going back home suddenly wasn't an option anymore, so Ward started her new life in Orlando away from her husband who travels back and forth.

"It's hard," she said. "But it's what is best for our son. We want to give him the best quality of life and things were awful back in the island."

Ward feels blessed with how much she's accomplished since moving to Orlando. After applying to hundreds of jobs, she landed a position at Heart of Florida United Way were she's helping with the organization's home assistance program for Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria. 

"I know what it's like to start a new life in a new place and how difficult it can be especially when you didn't plan it," Ward said. 

As far as going back to Puerto Rico, Ward said that's out of the question for a while. Her son is doing great in school and she sees a better life for all of them. She just hopes her husband can soon move with them to Orlando for good. 

"I feel like it's going to take a long time for Puerto Rico to make it back on its feet and this was a decision we made together," Ward said.