Natural disasters obviously have a dire impact on everyone, though there are some people who, due to a variety of reasons, are in graver danger when they hit. Just consider the viral photo of elderly women inside of a Houston nursing home who were sitting in waist-high water before being rescued.
Numerous stories like this have emerged in recent days, showing how rescue workers have gone above and beyond to help those who have additional struggles or ailments. Another one of those incredible stories involved a pregnant woman who was in labor on Sunday when neighbors formed a human chain to help get her to safety.
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Greg and Andrea Smith are new to Houston; the couple, who are both doctors, moved to the city in late July, and were expecting their unborn baby to arrive just as Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. The plan was to head to the hospital on Sunday morning, but the weather made that impossible.
It was a pregnancy that the two had hoped and prayed for. After two miscarriages and some fertility issues, the couple had turned to their faith in hopes of finally getting pregnant, with a third pregnancy finally unfolding.
Now, they faced yet another hurdle with the reality that the hurricane had hit.
“We felt like we had to surrender this to God,” Greg Smith told PEOPLE. “Everything about this pregnancy is God’s will.”
So, as the flood waters rose around their apartment complex on Sunday morning, the Smiths desperately needed a plan. After phoning 911 and the Coast Guard to no avail, they started preparing for a home birth.
“I knew I would have to do this myself,” Greg told PEOPLE, noting that he had no medical experience with births. “I had some courage, though. Even if I had to do a home birth, I felt like it was going to be okay.”
As he and his mother, who was in town to help, started prepping their apartment for delivery, some other doctors and nurses who lived in the complex caught word of what was unfolding and starting bringing up supplies. At one point, the Smiths moved to higher ground for the delivery over fears of rising floodwaters.
But then, as word spread, local firemen brought a massive garbage truck outside the building. And that was the amazing moment when neighbors formed a human chain to help get Greg and Andrea on the truck.
Their kindness meant that Andrea could deliver baby Adrielle at a local hospital, which was quite lucky considering that the newborn had some complications.
“If she were born at home, that wouldn’t have been the best place for her. I’m so glad she is in the hospital,” Greg told PEOPLE. “Everything about this pregnancy we said is God’s will. That’s why her name is Adrielle. It means, ‘She belongs to God.'”
Greg later told KRTV-TV that he found it “amazing” to see how the city of Houston came together to help one another, and expressed his gratitude to neighbors and others who helped out.
Praise God for a happy ending.
(H/T: PEOPLE)