TAMPA – A couple celebrating a delayed honeymoon in Montego Bay, Jamaica, was evacuated with about 340 Americans Oct. 31 by Grey Bull Rescue, a veteran-led operation out of Tampa.
The couple survived the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa with winds in excess of 185 miles per hour by sheltering in the shower of their room at the hotel resort.
Carissa Lefley-McCauley and David McCauley, of Charlotte, arrived in Jamaica on Oct. 21 planning to enjoy some special time away together as a young, married couple – a time that had been interrupted for more than a year after their wedding vows on June 10, 2023.
The couple’s honeymoon phase was cut short when Lefley-McCauley lost her ability to walk when her original spinal cord stimulator failed and it was forced to be surgically extracted shortly after their wedding. Lefley-McCauley has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating connective tissue disorder that affects joints, muscles, skin and blood vessels.
It would take 12 months for McCauley, who works for the City of Charlotte, to shift roles into a caregiver; and for the couple to battle red tape to receive a new stimulator in May 2024.
The McCauleys were trying to make the most of their five-day, all-inclusive honeymoon trip to Montego Bay when their plans changed drastically and concern for Lefley-McCauley’s medical condition began to grow along with the approaching storm. They worried a prolonged power outage may interfere with the charging of her spinal cord device, making it difficult, if not impossible to walk.
Predictions as to the path of the hurricane were vague and based on past movement of other Caribbean storms. Many local sources and reports expected Melissa to turn north and move away from their small island. At that time, there was not a sense of urgency. Some of the catamaran excursions were canceled earlier in the week due to choppy waters but other guest activities continued up until Oct. 25.
When the couple received notice that their flight was canceled on Oct. 24, they, along with the 25,000 other visitors on the island, were left scrambling trying every option to re-book and get off the island.
“It was definitely not our choice to stay or be stranded as we’ve seen posted on social media,” McCauley said. “It was very misleading that some flights that were listed as available, were actually not even physically in Jamaica. They had been rerouted earlier but were still showing up on airline websites as departing outbound.”
Hopes of leaving early, however, faded Oct. 24 when the last two flights left the island for Toronto, Canada and London, England. All incoming flights were diverted. When the official hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica on Oct. 26, the airport officially closed.
McCauley said the couple took every precaution, completing all forms for the U.S. Embassy and ensuring Carissa had enough medications to ride out the storm.
“The sound was unimaginable as Melissa slammed into us on late Tuesday morning. It was so loud that it felt like my ears were splitting,” Lefley-McCauley described as they tried to keep calm on the shower floor. “We had the mattresses and furniture barricaded against the balcony sliding-glass doors and windows. We could see the frames and walls actually being sucked in and out with the gusts.”
The couple was able to notify family and friends on Oct. 29, in spite of no electricity, spotty cellular service and off-and-on again WiFi. The McCauleys described themselves as being safe but shaken. They, along with tourists from other countries, all faced yet another epic challenge as Jamaica began to assess the devastation. McCauley said they could see from the resort that the Sangster International Airport was severely damaged.
“The reality being in a foreign country and getting all of people like ourselves out before the hurricane made landfall was impossible no matter what people may think,” McCauley said.
The Grey Bull Rescue team mobilized a complex rescue mission that landed in Jamaica on Oct. 29. They gathered approximately 340 Americans who were stranded at nearby resorts, used five buses to transport them from Montego Bay to Kingston, and finally chartered two aircraft.
The first aircraft carried about 170 passengers and the second one, carrying another 170 passengers, off the island for Tampa. Both flights arrived close to midnight Oct. 31.
Grey Bull Rescue is a nonprofit that is experienced in mobilizing rescue missions around the world.
“Arriving in Charlotte Saturday morning, our hearts are with the Jamaicans whose lives and homes were lost so violently,” Lefley-McCauley added. “David and I had shelter, some communication and enough electrical power that enabled me to walk away stronger from the experience.”