Boots On The Ground: View From Hurricane Harvey First-Responder Lacee Keller
By: Brittany Bevis
Giving a whole new meaning to having boots on the ground, AQHA amateur, Lacee Keller, has traded in her boots and spurs for rain boots and a medical kit, acting as one of the many first-responders in Texas that are assisting with evacuation and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
Our readers will undoubtedly recognize Lacee as one half of the amateur, all-around team with her horse, multiple NSBA World Champion and three-time Reserve Congress Champion, Rageous Blaze. Because Lacee is a resident of the area, she first had to address the needs of her own horses as the floodwaters quickly rose to overcome her own property. “My horses were evacuated on Monday night,” she says. “The water had risen to three feet over our 10 acres, and we decided it was time to get out. When I checked on my place on Wednesday, I still had a foot and a half on all 10 acres. The horses were evacuated to my father’s ranch in Pearland. We evacuated six horses and had eight in Pearland. They now all have stall buddies, and, because he’s been taking in neighbors’ horses, we have six in the covered arena.”
Once her own animals and family were safe, Lacee’s thoughts turned to fellow Houston residents. Because she currently works as a clinical liaison for Cornerstone Hospital of Houston, she was contacted by HCA Mainland Medical Center staff to help bring in much needed personnel. “They had 130 patients and had just received 60 hypothermic, nursing home residents. They only had two doctors in the entire hospital. I got two doctors and a PAC [Physician Assistant-Certified] there. In addition, we went to one of the many shelters and started IV fluids and checked for hypoglycemia and other vital information from a group of nursing home evacuees.”
Lacee recounts a particularly harrowing experience when she met a woman who was severely septic and in danger of dying unless she was transported to a hospital. “Through networking, we were able to get her the help she needed.” Lacee explains the two-fold problem that develops when a storm of this magnitude floods such a large city, making roads inaccessible. “When there is a disaster like this, people often forget that there are still sick people in the hospital. The doctors must have a way to see them, so my friends, Dink Radley, Ryan Crow, and myself have been transporting them. As far as a team, we have [evolved] from being strangers to a group of friends. I picked up an ER doctor and a nurse to take to the shelter with me, so we’re now working together. The Physician Assistant rides along and gives medical assistance to anyone we evacuate who needs help.”
Despite Harvey having been downgraded to a tropical depression as it finally moves on from the Gulf Coast, the damage has been done, and people are still being evacuated by boat. “Yesterday, I was still driving through four to five feet of water,” Lacee says. “My step brother, Dustin McCray, mobilized a team and ended up being recruited by the National Guard. He’s currently in Beaumont evacuating people. In 36 hours, he evacuated over 500 people.”
“In the area where we’re evacuating people, they bus them by boat. Then, we load them in a huge, jacked up truck and bus them through six feet of water to the next pick up point. Then, they’re taken to a shelter. There are shelters at almost every major school. It’s an eerie feeling to see people wade through chest deep water while holding their belongings or pets. There were two, city official boats evacuating, and the rest were people who just showed up. If it wasn’t for the outpouring of support from the community, lots more lives would have been lost.”
“A child fell out of a boat and through networking we were able to locate his mom and reunite them. Also, we had a family we evacuated with a one-year-old, and they had no idea where to go. I invited them to come back to my house to stay. They have now become great friends. Their home was lost.”
Because of the severe devastation in the area, the National Guard is on site guarding highly flooded, business areas from looters, another unfortunate side effect of the storm and witness of the desperation of humanity brought out during a state of emergency. Still, the bright spot in all the darkness is the selflessness of first-responders who have jumped into action helping in any way they can.
“My stepbrother, Dustin McCray, has been evacuating people by boat. My friends, Dink Radley and Ryan Crow, have been using their jacked up trucks to shuttle medical personnel and evacuees out of high water to the drop off points. There are so many different ways people are needed in this situation. My father hasn’t been home since Friday. He runs an electrical contracting company, and he has to keep the AT&T towers running. He was trapped working on one when I spoke to him. The water was eight foot high and rising. He currently has two towers down.”
“My sister, Amber, has been helping take care of all the horses, so I can stay in the field helping people and my mom at the hospital. My mom is a PAC, and she was one of the first people who arrived at the hospital. She stayed there for 72 hours straight. My little brother is also helping with the barn and feeding first responders. I’m currently headed to Galveston to feed first-responders.”
Lacee says the most overwhelming need right now is for shelter, because so many people have been displaced from their homes. “Almost every major school has a shelter, and we have opened our homes to strangers. Right now, it’s too hard to get into Houston to help. As soon as the water recedes, we will need help cleaning up. We also need supplies for people and animals.”
If you would like to assist with recovery efforts, Lacee stresses that you donate to an organization that distributes 100% of funds raised. “It was just announced that Walmart gave 1 million dollars, Whataburger gave 2 million, and Ellen DeGeneres gave 1 million as well, all to the JJ Watt fundraiser. 100% of the proceeds go to the community.”
In addition to people, many animals have been stranded as well. Kennels, tarps, pet food, and livestock feed are among the items currently needed. “There is always a way to help. If you have two hands, there is something to do: from cooking to picking up trash to providing medical care.”
Although the water is receding, Houston residents are keeping a wary eye on the horizon as Tropical Storm Irma is brewing in the Atlantic Ocean. “We’re praying Tropical Storm Irma doesn’t hit us next week.”
