SWFL says ‘hi’ to Irma babies

Reporter: Lindsey Sablan
Published: Updated:

After Hurricane Irma, one family was thinking less about home repairs and more about building a baby nursery.

10 months after Irma, many babies have been born and one mother says she has no shame in her game when talking about how her newborn Violet came to be.

“We could only play Monopoly so many times,” said Valerie Howe.

While taking shelter from the hurricane, there was only so much to keep her and her husband busy.

“There was no electricity ,” said Howe.

With no power, and forced to stay inside, Mother Nature set the mood.

“Had I have left, we wouldn’t have Violet.”

Baby Violet was just meant to be. And apparently so was this encounter between Valerie and her delivery nurse, Tina Neville.

“She had come through our doors 10 years ago and she had a baby and I happened to be the nurse that took care of her then,” said Neville.

A decade ago, Neville helped deliver Valerie’s older daughter, Coral.

“10 years later we sort of reenacted the entire event all over again,” said Neville.

With a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old, Violet was a surprise.

“Now she’s here, I couldn’t imagine a family without her. She’s just the perfect piece that we were missing.”

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