Medical student arrives home from Dominica after Hurricane Maria

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A young medical student from the Chicago area is sharing her experience surviving Hurricane Maria on the island of Dominica.

She was injured when a ceiling collapsed in the storm but is finally home.

Medical attention was the first stop for Janelle Berger. She has a broken clavicle and severe sunburn.

Berger is a student at Ross University School of Medicine. She and fellow students were in her top floor apartment until the roof gave way to the hurricane winds.

Berger said the ceiling came down on her shoulder.

Meanwhile, her mom was monitoring HAM radio reports and watching weather reports.

As the storm passed, there was no electricity and no running water. Berger and some of the students left for St Lucia on a tourist ship through rough water, dodging debris.

"It did take about 14 hours," she said. "So it was a long, long, long trip."

Berger's mom met the ship in St. Lucia and they returned to the Chicago area overnight.

Their thoughts are still with the students yet to be evacuated and the permanent residents of Dominica.

"If you're sick... no hospitals... running water," said mom Loretta Dorn. "They have nothing."