Hi everyone
I know that this is way off topic from conservation but I feel compelled to share an amazing story with you that will show on no uncertain terms that we are surrounded by silent heroes, and that the power of prayers is an incredible thing –
For those of you that don’t know we have had an amazing connection with Grand Bahama island over the last 15 years and actually lived there for several of those years – its an amazing place with incredible people.
Having weathered several hurricanes over that time we were not particularly concerned about Dorian, of course all the usual precautions were being taken – we were not on the island and the usual whatsapps were being traded with friends and my mother who is almost 80 – and who planned to spend the hurricane with her three dogs at a friends home.
The floodwaters spared nothing turning familiar places into scenes of devastation
On Monday the second I got my last message from her “Constant pounding now my darling loud noise very noisy and lots of rain but we are all fine”
As we watched the news and received some sporadic messages from people we realized that this was no ordinary storm – creeping ever so slowly, so slowly in fact that it appeared stationary – news of the devastation of Abaco started flowing as the storm hit the east end of Grand Bahama – then we heard the following Sunday that she and the people she was with had to be evacuated from their house and that she had slipped and hurt her hip.
A friend of Ashleighs wrote and said that her son saw the water flowing through their door, he got on his knees and prayed as loudly as he could saying “Jesus, please help me I am only 8 and I want to live a bit longer”
Imagine the shock when My sister Nina and I saw on someones instagram post the above video of mum getting carried into a more sturdy structure – I immediately contacted them saying, “that’s my mother please tell me where she is and whats going on” as it turns out she had a broken hip and was with some amazing friends but they were unable to get any medication or help Nina and I started working every angle
Monday came and went and the storm raged meanwhile our phones were “lit up” with whatsapps literally hundreds of them as we tried every option to find someone who would fly in-
Our close friends Dave Noble and Sylvia Bateman has their plane lined up, Dave got all the necessary clearances and was ready to go, a good friend Andre Steynberg was on the phone with embassy staff, with US Coast Guard and all and every contact we had that may be able to help – we were getting some news but very little from the folks who were with her, of course cell service and battery was at a premium and everyone was frantically trying to weather the storm and rescue people and generally try and make some order from the chaos-
Tuesday came, the storm was still raging but it was starting to move – we were still helpless but we were assured she was on the top of evacuation lists with several agencies –
Wednesday morning I spoke to her, the storm was moving and Coast Guard choppers started flying but their priority was US citizen bodies then US citizens in critical condition – the airspace was locked down and Dave was not allowed to fly – we managed to get her to a quieter location and a doctor examined her and confirmed that the hip was broken but having been moved several times with a broken hip and with no medication now for 4 days she was starting to weaken – My mother is the most incredible person on the planet she did not complain for a moment was so incredibly grateful to everyone who helped and truly inspired so many she came into contact with –
In spite of literally hundreds of messages crossing our whatsapp groups and an enormous circle of people praying and trying all they could by Wednesday night we realized she was going to have to wait till the following day –
On Thursday morning the friends she was with spoke to me, it was bad – she had started a fever in the night, infection had set in and when I spoke to her for the first time she quietly said “I am tired” – we all knew she was dying-
Dave and Sylvia were helpless and frustrated, they had been standing by all this time and USCG simply wasn’t giving anyone clearances – then a high ranking government official came to where they were to give a press statement, Dave calmly interrupted him, told him the situation and with a brief couple of phonecalls and an exchange of information he was airborne in 15 minutes –
Yet another friend Cameron Kirkconnel came to the fore, he has a spearfishing friend who was an orthopedic surgeon – he agreed to do the whole operation for free if we could just get mum to him in Stuart Florida
The plane landed, the first one to land after the storm and amid the wreckage of what was once a quaint little island airport Dave found some officials and handed in his paperwork, meanwhile other friends were trying to get her an ambulance and with downed power lines they could not get to the house, one way or another they managed with other vehicles a few excruciating moves for mum who was trying to be brave and had a new spark now that she knew the end was in sight –
Andre Steynberg and Jamie Cowan who had been heavily engaged had coordinated checkin ahead of time, Dave and Sylvia coordinated arrival formalities and Cameron was standing by at the hospital to make sure all went smoothly –
There was not a dry eye among all of us as she was wheeled in to that hospital and for the first time in 5 days received the pain medication she needed, her exam showed she was hours away from her last breath from dehydration, infection and sheer pain and trauma and yet still not a single word of complaint not a single moment of anger and nothing but incredible gratitude –
Dave simply watched that ambulance drive away and he and Sylvia flew back to fort Lauderdale from where to this day, and out of their own pockets they have been flying supplies in and bringing people out several times a day – with absolutely no agenda apart from doing whatever they could to help with what they had
I spoke to Dave yesterday and asked how he was, I could tell from his voice he was simply empty, he had seen sights and worked hours and done things beyond what most humans are capable of – he has used all his savings saved many people he didn’t even know and yet still he is driven and committed to continue –
Mum has left rehab now with her new hip, her three dogs (that are her life) and who survived the ordeal are with Nina and she will be in Ninas home where she will finish her recovery.
I asked her whats next – she simply said I need to get back to the island and I am going to try and help some people and help Dave and Sylvia in any way I can – at 79 years old that to me is an incredible testimony of a certain resilience that is not common in todays world –
What this shows me is the power of prayers and the power of surrounding yourself with an effective team – I cant tell you all how much we appreciate you – you know who you are – and I hope that you realize that your efforts saved an amazing persons life –
For those who have read this far I would like you to please consider supporting Dave at the following link – he will directly receive all the money and if you met him for just five minutes you would know just how well used your support will be.