Nationwide Pokemon card donation to SWFL kid losing his collection to Ian

A big surprise came for a family on Tuesday, after losing almost everything in Hurricane Ian.

Hurricane Ian affected Mason, Andrea, Gary, and their dog Fritz a lot after it took nearly everything away from them. WINK News spoke with them recently while they were cleaning out their Siesta Isles home that Ian destroyed.

12-year-old Mason lost something very special to him in the storm: his massive collection of Pokemon cards.

“I was really disappointed; I should have packed them, because they were special to me,” Mason said.

On Tuesday, Mason got the biggest surprise of his young life. Thousands of Pokemon cards were donated with letters from kids in Southwest Florida and across the country.

“I’m so grateful that people have sent things from around the world, their collections, their personal collections to my son,” Andrea said.

Andrea told WINK News the family is still struggling with getting things back to normal.

“It’s hard. We miss our house, we miss our routine, but we’re managing,” Andrea said.

But, as long as her son is happy, she is going to be all right.

“He’s my world, he makes it go ’round,” Andrea said. “He’s my priority. I knew that he had been collecting Pokemon cards. I know it means the world to him.”

And Mason is now a very happy kid.

“I’m gonna go through ’em all when I get home,” Mason said.