A letter from Haiti: After the earthquake

"This earthquake was like no other. . . It is like kicking a baby down before he knows how to stand."

We are all OK. Our house still stands. That is a blessing. If that were not the case, we would not have been able to help so many after the quake hit.

I was in the kitchen; my son Grayden was in his room. Bridgely was in the house, close to the door. We think one of the twins was in her bedroom and one was on the porch. Teagan and Laurens were on the porch.

It started as a low hum and shake; then it grew....

My mind thought, "That is strange." Then, "What is that?" In a matter of seconds, the house came alive. The shaking was incredible. I remember seeing the concrete walls moving violently in a wave, like at a wave pool. One to my right, one to my left and then one in front of me moving in a different direction. The ceiling was also moving in a wave above me. The floor beneath my feet did not feel attached.

Grayden ran to me, screaming. Hysterical screams. I clung him tightly to me and instinctively semi-crouched. All of this may have only taken a few seconds – I don't know.

The next thing I remember was Laurens running in the house yelling, "Get out, get out, get out...RUN!" As he grabbed my arm, I went into full action. Still clinging to Grayden, I ran to the door, grabbing as many of my children as I could. Yelling, myself, "RUN, RUN, RUN, GO, GO!" We reached the steps to the garden and I remember how difficult it was to run down them as the concrete steps were moving. I remember running through the front drive with the land still moving. Laurens was still yelling to run further, to get away from the building. The dog followed us all.

When I got to the end of the driveway, I looked around and counted kids. I could not see Bridgely. I turned back to the building and screamed "BRIDGELY, BRIDGELY, BRIDGELY!" I thought he was still on the upper level at our neighbour's. Then, there he was in front of me. He had been holding my hand the whole time.

When we were somewhere between the driveway and the road, the movement stopped, for a moment. Then it started again: smaller, but almost as big as the first and long as well. I gathered the kids and instructed them to sit, and we huddled until it stopped. Then it started again. Finally, the earth rested for a while.