If you have been following Facebook or watching the news at all, you know that things in Haiti have hit a new low, and that the last several weeks have been very interesting for Haiti and myself.

On March 3rd I arrived at church and the gate was closed and there was almost nobody there. Things had been escalating but not too extreme to this point. A friend called and asked what was going on as the stores were all closed. When the time for church to start came and past I messaged that pastor to find out what was going on since they hadn’t even arrived yet. While waiting for an answer we decided it was time to get home as things just didn’t feel right.

I learned that things were suddenly expected to get bad and that several of my friends were leaving Haiti that day! Some of my friends got out on Spirit, but some didn’t, as American canceled their flight for that day. New gang violence erupted around the airport resulting in the airport and 2 planes receiving bullet holes. The airport was completely closed on that afternoon and has not reopened since. After the airport was closed the U.S. Embassy announced that Americans needed to leave Haiti as soon as possible…

Initially, I assumed that the airport would reopen in a few days and I would be able to leave then without significant issue if things didn’t improve. But as time went on, it became more obvious that would not happen. I then started looking for other options to get out of Haiti.

Haiti has had a level 4 “do not travel” alert for almost all of the last 7 1/2 years that I have been living there. Many people have said, well you should have never been there. But it is the norm for us, and if things became uncomfortable you always had the option to leave. This is the first time that leaving was no longer an option.

The thought of leaving these kids and my other patients behind is not an easy choice to make.

Project Dynamo was one of the options that I found and signed up for to evacuate Haiti. This is a group of veterans that started an organization 2.5 years ago to rescued Americans around the world who had been left behind by the current policies. Shortly after arriving in Haiti, they hit the 7,000 + mark for Americans rescued since they began a short time ago. I also did sign up with the State Department and several other organizations, looking for the first available ride out!

Due to the lack of support from the State Department, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic were not in any hurry to help with the evacuation of U.S. citizens. This made the necessary paperwork for helicopter flights almost impossible to get, to be able to have a legal flight. So, I was on stand-by with a call every evening saying “be ready, we should be leaving in the morning!” This went on for 11 days…

Prison or Protection? The view from my living room through the bars and razor wire.

There are over 350,000 people in Haiti that have been forced from there homes due to gangs running them out, terrorizing them, burning their homes, assaulting and killing them. This was my view for 265 straight hours while I never left my house. While at times it sure felt like living in a prison, it was also a great feeling of protection! Especially when you could hear shooting, sometimes much to close for comfort, and seen the smoke from fires the gangs were setting. Knowing that thousands live on a sidewalk with no protection at all from what was happening around them on the streets, sometimes it’s a pretty good view.

Watching businesses being burned from my roof.

As time went on, many people started to check in with me and ask what could be done. People starting calling their politicians. Many in Michigan but some in several other states as well. Some politicians in Michigan became very familiar with my name, through the many phone calls and emails they received.

Some of my friends wanted to try to raise the up to $50,000.00 USD that some people were paying for a seat on a helicopter for a 45-minute flight to the Dominican Republic. Money always buys what you need in Haiti and the Dominican for paperwork. I was very grateful, but could never have spent that kind of money for a ride when there is so much hunger, suffering, and so many medical needs in Haiti.

The State Department did finally get a little more active with there efforts which finally helped to facilitate the paperwork for a in country flight, but not one into the Dominican Republic, as originally planned. The State Department even started doing their own flights, but getting across town to the Embassy was not a safe or easy trip to be made for me.

My days were filled on my phone. It quickly became a full-time job watching the security chats I was a part of, answering messages and calls from concerned friends, coordinating with Project Dynamo, watching Facebook for updates on the situation in Haiti, and talking to politicians’ offices. My last 8 days in Haiti I was on my phone for 75 hours.

FINALLY, after 11 days on standby, closing my house up to leave every morning and reopening it every evening to go to bed, we got the GO call!!! It was such a blessing that the landing zone they picked was actually my church! It was only about 3 blocks from my house, so much safer than the embassy.

Have you ever been picked up at church in a Blackhawk helicopter??

They flew in and I was thankful to be able to be in the first group of 18 people loaded into the helicopter! It was concerning for those in the second group as the helicopter would draw a lot of attention while they waited for it to return. We were flown out of Port-au-Prince and over the mountains on a 32-minute flight to Cap-Haitian in northern Haiti.

While still in Haiti, Cap-Haitian has a reputation for being one of the calmest and safest larger cities in Haiti. It was a good feeling to be out of Port-au-Prince and some place with a functioning airport! When we arrived at the airport it was very difficult to hear their instructions as the helicopter had been so loud. There had been a miscommunication in our daily calls. Myself as well as others thought that Dynamo was coordinating transportation all the way to U.S. soil. They were actually done at the airport in Cap-Haitian. I have never been to Cap-Haitian and had no idea of what I would do next. I walked out to the front of the airport feeling very overwhelmed with the situation I now found myself in.

In the main lobby of the airport was a group of Americans not involved without our flight. I asked what they were doing and they stated that they were with the Florida Department of Emergency Management and asked if I wanted to go home with the DeSantis evacuation plan? I said yes, very much so!! The flight for the day was already loaded but they said to come back in the morning and they would get me out of Haiti! I am thankful that a friend from church was also on the Helicopter flight and she had been to Cap-Haitian before and knew about hotels in the area and how things worked there. It was reassuring to be able to have someone to travel to and from the hotel with and navigate this new place.

I have always wanted to travel up to Cap-Haitian and it has long been my intention that if I ever got to go I would for sure visit the Citadel. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for this trip.

The view from my hotel room, waking up in a safer place on my way to America!

The next day we went back to the airport and were confirmed for the trip to Orlando Florida. I was shocked to get on a large airliner which was a private charter plane with the entire aircraft being first class seating. At 5:15 on March 27th I finally left Haiti. So, after 24 days being trapped, I was finally out of Haiti!! Interestingly enough, the 27th was the day I had booked to leave Haiti to come back and do taxes back in November!

Upon arrival to Orlando, the reception by the state of Florida was overwhelming! They took care of all of our needs with support, and food and things we may need. When they asked where I was looking to go, I said that I would be going to Detroit. They said, it’s too late for a flight now, so we will put you up for the night and they get you a flight tomorrow. I said, and you’re going to do all that? They said, yes, we told you we would get you home! They put us up in the Marriott for the night. During the night they booked me on a flight from Orlando to New York, then on to Detroit. The ticket was over $1,500.00, not including the cost of the charter flight from Haiti.

It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that this entire trip from my house in Port-au-Prince to my house in Reed City wouldn’t have cost me any money, had I not had the privilege to help pay for a hotel stay and dinner for a disabled gentleman from our helicopter, in Cap-Haitian on Tuesday night. He too was taken by surprise of the news that our assistance from Dynamo was finished at the airport.

It was good to get back to Michigan! But my heart is still in Haiti and that is not easy with all that is going on there. So many kids and patients that I work with on a regular basis are now on their own in a place with virtually no help available. ~Be watching in the next week or so for another blog post with an update on Haiti, the things that have been happening with Kelby’s Kids prior to all of this, and of those left behind.~

I am so blessed by all the friends and family back here that were concerned about me. I may have considered staying a while longer if not for your prompting to come back to safety. I felt very much that God was protecting me while this was all going on. That is because of many of you who were praying for me! There is no way to know how many were praying, but I am sure it was several thousand with all the family, friends, churches, groups, and some complete strangers who were praying. My last post from Haiti had almost 10,000 views, because you were sharing it to get more people involved. I am also thankful for your efforts to influence the government to get more involved. Also, the efforts or other organizations as alternate options for evacuation were greatly appreciated.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

Project Dynamo

Florida Department of Emergency Management through the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis

Quisqueya Chapel

Agape Flights

Missionary Flights International

Garrett Saldano and the Grassroots Army

Congressman John Moolenaar’s office

Congressman Bill Huizenga’s office

Pete Hoekstra’s office

Senator Debbie Stabenow’s Office

Osceola County Administrators office

The United States Department of State

And especially ALL OF YOU!!

Only Time will tell what is going to happen in Haiti and when I may be able to return some day. Please continue to pray for Haiti and the tremendous amount of suffering that is going on there. It is the few who are making life so very difficult for the many and people are suffering tremendously because of it.

With a broken heart, knowing there is so very much to be done

Until No Child Dies,

Kelby