Chiropractor to help hurricane victims
Vacationing in Turks and Caicos took a horrifying turn for Dr. Craig Zavitz and his wife Robin last month when their island was battered by hurricane Irma.
The Category 5 storm hit the island head on.
“It was a very emotional experience. I would say life-changing when you watch that scale,” said the Welland chiropractor. “The next morning, you couldn’t drive anywhere, even the main roads were so littered with palm trees, lamp posts, sheet metal, two-by-fours, shingles. It was like you’d see after a tornado hit the mid-western U.S. It really did a number.”
But while Zavitz, of Pelham, said they were tourists in a secure concrete resort with hurricane glass, they knew the hotel staff and their families had lost everything.
It’s why he’s donating 100 per cent of all fees for services at his Zavitz Chiropractic and Laser Clinic at 340 Thorold Rd. this Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fees, and any other financial donations dropped off, will be given to the Salvation Army, which has a presence on the islands.
“They need housing, clothing, food, furnishings. It’s hard to get materials on the island because everything is brought in by container ship,” Zavitz said.
“We’re trying to help them out in a small way.”
Zavitz said the hurricane was the first time Turks and Caicos took a Category 5 head-on. The storm started about 6 p.m. on Sept. 7 and gathered intensity, peaking at midnight and clearing by morning.
The concrete building he was in shook and the wind raged past the impact-resistant windows in one direction, became calm and then raged again in the opposite direction.
He said the resort took cosmetic damage with most of the gardens and trees down and the pool filled with sand.
“Everything looked sandblasted. A palm tree would be just as clean as could be on one side and black on the other.”
Other areas weren’t as lucky. “The reason we’re doing this is for the people who live and work there. They don’t live in concrete houses,” he said. “Most of those are gone. It takes the roof off and takes the walls down and you lose all your possessions.”
Power was shut off in the tourist district for about four days. While most of the island is back up, Zavitz said some areas still have no water or electricity.
He said most of the people work in the tourism industry and that’s slowed because of the hurricane at a time when residents need the money the most. Staff at the resort the Zavitzes were staying at in Providencialese continued to work the next day while dealing with their own losses.
Despite the scope of the disaster, Zavitz said it seemed to bring out the best in people.
“‘I’m alive and my family’s alive,’” he recalled one conversation going.
“How’s your house?”
“‘It’s gone.’”