Double the Trouble: Twins born amidst Hurricane Helene aftermath celebrate 1st birthday

SWAINSBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - September 26, 2024 Kirby and Margaret Anne Allmond were watching and waiting for Hurricane Helene to make landfall.

They knew couldn’t have predicted that the hurricane would be the least of their worries. Waking up to the destruction that Hurricane Helene had on their small town was about to create an even scarier situation for them.

“He said, this is not the time to go into labor, we are stranded at our house, we just had a hurricane, it was not even 5 minutes later and my water broke and I just went to yelling,” said Margaret Anne.

Trees down everywhere, no cellphone service, a half a tank of gas and a hospital over an hour away.

The options of what to do or where to go were limited but they made the choice to drive to the nearest hospital with a NICU.

“My biggest fear at that point was that she would go into labor on the side of the road and help wouldn’t get to us,” said Kirby.

The two raced to a hospital in Augusta, with Margaret Anne in labor, the aftermath of Helene and less than a tank of gas.

“There was at one point where we were driving through on coming traffic because we just could not stop, if we did, we weren’t sure if we would make it,” said Kirby.

Miraculously, the couple made it to the Piedmont Augusta hospital.

“You almost wanna get down on your hands and knees and kiss the ground because you are so happy you are there,” said Kirby.

In just a few hours the girls were here.

After 2 months in the NICU, the girls were released happy and healthy, with one heck of a story to tell.