SAN ANTONIO – His nationally recognized restaurant flooded out, much of her scientific research destroyed, Wilson Davalos and Dr. Catherine Hulshof finally flew out of their hurricane-ravaged city of Isabela on the western coast of Puerto Rico.
“I am just so happy, so happy that they’re here safe,” said Hulshof’s mother, Teresa, a retired San Antonio teacher.
Her parents had been trying to reach Hulshof for days after the Hurricane Maria made a direct hit, its eye passing directly over them.
Thanks to Davalos’ longtime friend, William “Crazy Legs” Colon, who is from Isabela, the couple was able to reach Hulshof’s parents by borrowing his satellite phone.
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“From one day to the next, it changed the outlook for us,” Catherine Hulshof said.
She said after speaking with her parents, they bought her and Davalos plane tickets, but on two separate flights because each only had one seat left.
“There’s thousands of people trying to leave and can’t,” Hulshof said.
She said Puerto Rico’s airports were badly damaged, and no tickets were being sold in country.
But, she and Davalos said “Crazy Legs” still managed to fly in on a plane chartered by the energy drink maker Red Bull.
Colon is the company's national spokesman. He arrived with its first planeload of water filtration systems provided by Waves for Water, a nonprofit that helps provide clean water for communities worldwide.
Now that Davalos and Hulshof are in San Antonio, they said they’ll be able to do more to help many of those who remain behind, including her students and colleagues at the University of Puerto Rico, and his staff and customers at his restaurant CLMDO.
They said people like themselves who are leaving Puerto Rico could play a vital role in helping, especially in the rural, more remote areas outside of the capital city of San Juan.
Hulshof said they can serve as liaisons between organizations here and those in need.
“They know which organizations on the island are actually operational,” she said. “Now we can serve as that link to bring more aid, more private aid to Puerto Rico.”
For instance, Davalos said he’s been in contact with San Antonio’s Puerto Rican Heritage Society, and he’s heard about former Mayor Henry Cisneros’ efforts to help Hurricane Maria’s victims.
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Davalos said he will join Hulshof in Virginia next year when she begins teaching at a university there, but he still plans to reopen his restaurant in Isabela. He said his mother, who lost part of her house to Maria, is now living in their apartment with their dog Marbles that also rode out the storm.
As for Hulshof’s research, ironically about the effect of global warming on plant life, is what she said helped occupy her mind amidst the chaos.
“We had a lot of time to brainstorm research ideas,” she said.
Hulshof said a devastating handful of hurricanes in such a short time frame is the new normal. She said they should serve as “global call to the scientific community.”
Still, Hulshof said, she never imagined she would live through such a powerful storm. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing and I don’t want to live through it again,” she said.
