When the earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, Jim Gulley of Frisco was in the capital Port-Au-Prince on a charitable mission.
His family waited anxiously to hear from him as the hours he was missing grew.
But at 10:30 last night, after 55 hours, French rescue workers pulled Gulley from the rubble of the Hotel Montana.
Right away Gulley, 64, called his wife, Nancy, and two of his three sons.
“He is doing great,” his middle son, Aaron Gulley said today from Frisco. “He doesn’t have a broken ankle (as was earlier reported). He has bruises and lacerations, but no major issues.”
“He said it was the most taxing and terrifying thing he has been through,” Aaron Gulley said.
Jim Gulley arrived at Denver International Airport Friday night on a flight from Miami to a joyful welcome by family and friends.
Rescued with Jim Gulley from the demolished hotel were Sam Dixon and Clinton Rabb, as well as a number of other American missionaries and aid workers.
Chris Heckert, spokesman for United Methodist’s General Board of Global Ministries, said Gulley, Dixon and Rabb – all Methodist ministers – were in Haiti to meet with other aid organizations to discuss how health care in Haiti can be improved.
Dixon heads the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and Rabb is the leader of the church’s mission volunteer office. Gulley is a UMCOR consultant.
Heckert said Rabb and Dixon, who had their feet and legs trapped, sustained more serious injuries than Gulley and were hospitalized.
After his rescue last night, Gulley gave a short interview to ABC News.
“We are fortunate to be alive,” Gulley told the American camera crew.
Gulley has spent his career assisting the poor in developing countries for UMCOR.
He had just arrived at the Hotel Montana about 5 p.m. Tuesday and was walking through the lobby with Dixon and Rabb when they spotted and greeted a group of other aid workers, said Aaron Gulley.
“He said the ceiling collapsed and they were trapped in a small space between pillars of the hotel,” Aaron Gulley said.
Heckert said Jim Gulley told church members after his rescue that a large reservation desk in the hotel lobby saved their lives. The three Methodists, plus Sarla Chand and Rick Santos of Inter Church Medical Assistance, dived under the reservation desk as the roof collapsed, said Heckert. The three Methodists weren’t staying at the hotel but had gone there for dinner and a meeting, said Heckert.
For the next 55 hours, they remained trapped.
At one point they heard tapping and voices of people who said they would get help and come back for them.
But for hours after that they heard nothing and feared they had been forgotten, related Aaron Gulley.
They survived on one Tootsie Roll pop, chewing gum and drinking their own urine, said Aaron Gulley.
“That was the extent of their food. They knew that (drinking their urine) was the best way to prolong their lives.”
Aaron Gulley said the outpouring of support for his family and concern about his dad has been overwhelming.
During the past two days, he said the family has received more than 200 calls from all over the world from the dozens of countries where his dad and the Gulley family have worked.
“My dad has helped them,” said Aaron Gulley. “He is exceedingly giving. My dad is the most generous and most giving person I’ve ever met. His passport is bigger than a Bible.”
In recent years, Jim Gulley has spent most of his time in Haiti and Cambodia, but the Gulley family has also spent considerable time in Nigeria, where Aaron Gulley was born.
During that time, the family – and especially Jim Gulley – have seen many things. But the earthquake in poverty-ridden Haiti topped them all.
“He felt very fortunate to get out, and by the grace of God he did,” said Aaron Gulley.
Gulley said that, he, his mother, and brothers Jeremy and Matthew, feel extremely lucky.
“We can’t believe our good fortune,” said Aaron Gulley, his voice cracking with emotion. “We were trying to keep the hope. We feel incredibly fortunate.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
