LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Ordinary people turned into a young girl's angels when a snow storm hit Louisville in 1994. Now, the story behind the heroism has been made into a movie that will be released this fall.

The record-breaking snowstorm on Jan. 16, 1994 shut down the city for weeks, but a Louisville family was able to get on a plane for a life-saving surgery for their three-year-old daughter thanks to the community.

Michelle Schmitt was born with a liver deficiency due to a medical condition and was in need of a liver transplant. She had waited two years for that transplant, and her time came on Jan. 17, 1994.

But that day before, a snow storm coming through the Louisville area resulted in a single-day snowfall record of more than 15 inches. The snow fall happened in about eight hours. Behind the storm was an intense cold air mass, sending temperatures plunging well below zero by Jan. 19, 1994. The burst of cold set an all-time low of -22 degrees in Louisville.

While the city was frozen, the clock was ticking for Schmitt. 

"You only have so many hours," her sister Ashley said.

The child had to get to Omaha, Nebraska for the transplant surgery.

"No one was going anywhere," Ashley said.

Sharon Stevens, the girls' grandmother's hairdresser, helped spread the word to radio stations, who helped spread the word to the public about needing help. Dozens of people rushed to the former Southeast Christian parking lot on Hikes Lane to shovel a path for a medical helicopter.

Once the parking lot was cleared, the helicopter took Michelle and her family to an airplane that flew to Nebraska. Again, a stranger stepped in, and offered his jet and paid for the fuel to get to Nebraska.

"Everything just had to, just flow together in a certain way that day for everything to work out," Ashley said.

The adventure will be showcased in the film "Ordinary Angels" and will hit the big screen on Oct. 13, 2023. Alan Ritchson, Hilary Swank and Nancy Travis star in the drama film.

"When we heard the name of it, we were just like, 'oh, that's perfect,' because there was a lot of just ordinary angels that day that made it possible for us to get out of the city to get Michelle her transplants," Ashley said.

The Schmitt family including Michelle's father, grandmother, and Stevens are portrayed in the film.

Ashley said conversations began over a decade ago about turning her sister's story into a movie. 

"We got to meet John Gunn, the movie director, he was super nice and did  a great job with this movie," Ashley said. "He did a great job putting this movie together and having the right people play us."

Michelle died in May 2021 due to a stomach aneurysm. It was the same month the movie was being filmed. Ashley said her sister would appreciate the project, but also hope it inspires others.

“I think it’s a really good push, seeing this you could save someone’s life just by signing the back of someone’s drivers license, so we hope to promote organ donation," Ashley said.

Ashley, like Michelle, is also a double-organ transplant recipient. The sisters were born with similar conditions, causing liver deficiencies. Both received liver and kidney transplants.

"To know that someone knew what the other one was going through, we would get a lot of sticks, bloodwork, procedures, it was really no big deal to us," Ashley said, "but it was still nice to have someone that had been through that." 

According to Donate Life, more than 1,000 Kentuckians and 1,000 Hoosiers are awaiting a life-saving organ. Twenty-two people die waiting each day for an organ transplant.

To sign up to become an organ donor, click here.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.