Extensive repairs have been carried out on Mrs Ebanks’ house through the kind support of friends.

Seventy-two-year-old Bracker Valerie Ebanks recounted grim tales of Hurricane Paloma as she recalled the frightening wind and torrential rain.

But with her belief and faith in God, she zealously gave thanks that her life was spared in the destruction the natural disaster left behind in the Sister Islands.

A returning Cayman Brac resident for several decades, Mrs Ebanks, now a widow, returned from England and took up residence in Grand Cayman for twenty years. While there, she experienced the passing of Hurricane Gilbert and a few others that came close to the coast but she said her worst hurricane encounters were those she experienced on Cayman Brac.

“This is the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my life. We were all praying, scared for our lives. I personally didn’t think we were going to make it, but thank God no one was injured,” Mrs Ebanks said.

“This is the worst hurricane I have experienced in the Cayman Islands,” she explained referring to Hurricane Paloma. “I thought Gilbert and Gustav were forces to reckon with, but this was the most horrific to me,” Mrs Ebanks said.

“I was in the house and there was a dead calm before everything started. The house was shifting as the wind whistled like three trains that had locked their heads heading for an intersection,” she described.

“The concrete at the front and back of the house, which is used for reinforcement, was what I believed saved this house. This house belonged to my grandfather, so obviously it is not the newest around town,” she explained.

Mrs Ebanks told Cayman Net News that after several hours of hearing the wind raging through the house, the top went, leaving her and one of her workers, Iris Whitelock, to scamper to the back of the house.

“Ms Whitelock decided to stay with me during the hurricane because of my medical condition, and for this I’m grateful because she was the one who assisted me in moving around the house during the entire ordeal and assisted in salvaging what we could when the water came pouring down,” Mrs Ebanks said.

Her frantic experience allowed her to realise how powerful God is, even though she was not ignorant of the fact, but this was used as a positive reinforcement to get closer to her maker, she said.

“I lost a few things but those are temporal. I have chinaware among other things in my house, but the hurricane made me realise that all these things are of no value if we don’t have love for our neighbours and believe in Christ and try to live like him,” Mrs Ebanks said.

She added, “One thing I would like to make the public be aware of, and I’m not afraid to speak out; is that there was not one Bracker who came to assist me in the disaster; people may curse the Jamaicans but it was they who I saw first and were willing to come and assist me.”

Mrs Ebanks continued, “I know I will be bashed for this but I have to speak the truth and that’s the reason why I believe as a community we need to be more tolerant of each other and mindful of those who live in our country. We should desist from the negative connotations of someone based on nationality, colour of the skin and religion.”

Several items in Mrs Ebanks’ house got damaged, including furniture and clothing. Neither the house nor its contents were insured, but help has been forthcoming and Mrs Ebanks wanted to thank everyone for their assistance.

She said that Rex Ebanks, owner of Cayman Business Forms and Kings Enterprise, had adopted her as a mother.

“He treats me like his mother and I in turn treat him as my son,” she said.

“Rex made contact with me the following day and probed as to what type of assistance I would require. He made a trip to the Brac along with Fred Jackson Ebanks and Leo William Ebanks – a lady from Cuba; they brought food and toiletries and stationery that I could give to the children within the community,” Mrs Ebanks said.

She continued, “I did not have insurance on my house, however, God is my insurance and he provided all that I needed to get through this catastrophe.”

Rex Ebanks, she explained, called Kent ‘Biggie’ Rankin and made arrangements for materials to be supplied for repairing her house.

“I had a lot of help and sound advice from Mr Biggie’s son Gary Rankin who manages the office on the Brac and supervisor Alex Flores. They gave me advice on the necessary items to purchase to ensure my roof was safe,” she said.

Mrs Ebanks said Caribbean Utilities Company was a major help for her to get power restored. Her landscaping business is also back up and running.

She also expressed her thanks to MLA Moses Kirkconnell, Vernice Martin, Zanda Scott, Mercedes Jackson, Royce Dilbert and Sybil Jackson for making it possible for her company to have some work, as most of the landscaping duties are being carried out by the Public Works Department.

There were a few other people who have assisted her that Mrs Ebanks would like to thank: Ralph and Lorna Parchman, Halli and Ricardo Tavares, Gilbert McLaughlin, Naomi Josephs, Carolyn McCarther, Darolin Stewart and her sisters in-law Valda and Lardin Ebanks.