Letter from Leann Chong's sister

There has been an unbelievable amount of outpouring of love and well wishes to Leann. I would in turn, like to send her love back to you all! I spoke to her not too long ago for about 40 minutes!! She said she could feel everyone’s presence and prayers coming thru the piles of rubble. In between a lot of emotions, I was able to write down a play by play of what happened to Leann. I feel like a reporter, but her story is so amazing, that we feel it needs to be shared…

She had gotten dressed for dinner and had a little sundress on. She decided to put on a light jacket (as she is always cold!) and glad she did, as it helped protect her for what was to happen… she said the floor literally dropped from underneath her and she went along with it, along with three floors on falling on top of her. Yes, she was in on the second floor of a five story hotel (<http://www.htmontana.com/>). She was buried alive for 17 hours straight.

She ended up on her side and facing partly down in a type of fetal position or "child’s pose" from yoga. She said her being more in a down position prevented her from suffocating from the three feet of debris that was on top of her. She was covered from head to toe of concrete, glass, metal and there was a tiny pocket of air that was formed from the dresser that fell for her nose to breathe from. She said she would breathe calmly, to conserve air and stay calm. She knew it would be getting dark soon and that no one would be looking for them that evening. She could her others "moaning" and calling out for help as well.

She had no idea of time or how long she had been there. But she could hear voices and noise and then it would go away and she would get terrified that they wouldn’t return. They would argue and she thought they had given up on the place and were ready to move on. All this time, she talked to God, recited verses from the Bible that she could remember, sang songs and did anything to keep her mind going.

FINALLY, the rescue team found her. She doesn’t know how they found HER in all that mess, as she said she fell to the pool level area and it was almost cave-like. She thinks it was a UN/Haitian rescue team, as they did speak English, but French also. They had to cut her hair with a knife to free her up. They put her on a board and carried her out - just like you see on the news and movies - except this time, it was our Leann. She saw five of the students whom she had been escorting around. They had been by the open pool area and were unharmed.

An angel in disguise was awaiting her rescue - Frances Beatrice. She saw Leann after the rescue and held her hand the entire time and massaged her legs and comforted her. Leann gave her the phone number of my parents and that is how we got word later that afternoon. She also has her passport, driver’s license and credit cards! Her purse was right beside her and they grabbed it when she was rescued.

As she was laid on the ground, some explosions occurred. She thought she made it out of that mess and now she was going to die in an explosion!? There were propane tanks exploding. But that soon calmed down and she was helicoptered over to the Argentinean UN building where a female doctor looked her over. The doctor was concerned she had spinal injuries (which she does not) so that actually was what got her out of the country and over to the Dominican Republic. She waited at the UN for a while and then was flown by plane to Santiago, DR.

As she arrived at the hospital - one of the best in the Caribbean -- immediate x-rays and cat scans were preformed. She is very happy with the treatment she’s received there. And with the many people we know in Jamaica, DR, the U.S. etc. she has been treated like a queen. She got moved to a private room and the hospital owner even came to check on her. Some of these gracious people brought her clothes, underwear, bras, shoes, and money… others went to get her some shampoo, as her hair still has metal, wood, etc in it and she desperately wants it washed out. Her right eye is swollen shut; her right leg is healing slowly, but the good news is that the swelling is on the exterior vs. the interior in her veins. No injuries to her spine and she is swollen from her hip to her foot.

She does not want to leave right now, as I think she feels "comfortable" and safe where she is and is scared to move again. We however want to get her back tomorrow or Saturday. She was thinking Saturday or Sunday. All those logistics are still being worked out.

She was also very concerned about the group of students from Lynn University whom she was escorting. Looks like 11 of them are safe, but one student and the two faculty members are still missing. She feels horrible about all of that.

We kept saying over and over how miraculous it was that she was found. She truly believes God was watching her and with her. She sounded amazingly strong and "normal". I am so glad I got to speak to her, as it all seemed surreal until we spoke. God is good.

Georgine

(and Leann)