Separated In Nepal, Tinley Park Brother And Sister Reunite After Deadly Quake
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One week after Nepal's massive earthquake, a Chicago area brother and sister were reunited.
Rob Besecker and Chris Griffin were in Nepal together on a mountain trek, until altitude sickness forced their separation. Then, the earthquake hit.
They shared their stories of survival with CBS 2's Dana Kozlov.
"It felt like it lasted forever," Besecker said.
The 40-year-old Tinley Park resident has returned home, a week after living through the earthquake in Nepal.
He said he was "absolutely terrified" when the magnitude 7.8 tremblor hit on April 25.
Besecker was in Nepal with his sister, Chris Griffin, to trek to the Mt. Everest base camp. Griffin was supporting her brother on his book-writing journey, until she got sick and was helicoptered to Katmandu.
Besecker made it to base camp, and back down to the mountain town of Lukla, when the quake hit. The siblings were left stranded in two separate cities.
"For about 15 seconds, you're just kind of reacting by sitting there," he said. "Your eyes are wide open like a deer in headlights."
Griffin said people stampeded for the exits at her hotel when the ground started to shake.
"I was knocked over. I was knocked down on the ground," she said.
Griffin said she made it out of her hotel to see a sky full of dust and chaos all around her. She was terrified for her brother's safety.
"It was hard not knowing where he was, or if he was okay," she said.
Hours later, Griffin learned her brother was safe.
Only after returning home on Friday did Griffin learn she suffered three cracked ribs. She also returned home with something else.
"I have huge survivor's guilt," she said. "The best that I can do at this point is to donate to different organizations that I know do good work."
Besecker said he feels the same way about helping the Nepali people somehow; a people he said showed tremendous resilience.
"By the time we were leaving on the 29th, a lot of the shops were opened up again. A lot of the people in Nepal were smiling," he said. "I was really impressed by the people of Nepal."
Besecker has been battling a form of muscular dystrophy and related heart problems. He made the Nepal trek to help him write an inspirational book.
Both brother and sister said they'd go back, and both worry about the thousands of Nepali people who've lost everything. As of Monday, officials have said more than 7,200 people were killed in the earthquake.
