Leaving your home and all of your memories behind to evacuate before a natural weather disaster is already terrifying and heartbreaking.
The unknown of what you will come home to and how your life will change wasn't the biggest concern for the Miller family.
Angel, who was 37-weeks pregnant, evacuated with her family just before Hurricane Michael ravished the Florida Panhandle.
They finally arrived at Piedmont Hospital in Henry County, Georgia, after being turned away by multiple hospitals because of their out of state health insurance.
“I went down the line and called every O.B. I could Google search, and same answer...I was told, ‘You’re too pregnant,’ by one, and that our insurance just wouldn’t make an exception, even for this situation...in that moment I was scared for his life, my life," explained Angel.
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Angel went into labor the day she checked into the hospital.
Baby Marshall was born healthy and arrived October 15, just five days after Michael hit land.
“I’m able to hold him here today and know he’s okay, that’s special to me ‘cuz for a minute there I didn’t know what was going to happen," said Angel.
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Piedmont staff threw a belated baby shower for Miller and another evacuee-turned-mom, Breanna Thomas.
The Millers went home to Panama City with a brand new baby in hand and a fear of what they would find, just days after the storm swept threw.
“It brought me to tears. It did not look like our home. It did not look like our hometown at all. It was almost unrecognizable," says Angel.
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Now, almost a month after Hurricane Michael, Panama City and its surrounding suburbs overflow with marks of the storm. Tree limbs are finally off the roads. But most repairs will take months.
Since the storm, the Millers are home and trying to make a new normal. They stay in the house mostly, because the kids can't play in the yard due to debris and damage.
“You can sit here and you can think about your losses. You can think about the damage, the destruction, or you can choose to focus on… these beautiful moments,” says Angel.
