In the middle of the harsh situation currently playing out in various Mexican states as a consequence of hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel, the story of a woman who gave birth amidst strong rains and violent winds shows that there is always hope, even in the most desperate times.
According to information published by the BBC, last Saturday, Sept. 14, Heidi Mariana, a resident of Misantla, Veracruz, went into labor. However, when she left her home to head for the clinic, she realized that the strong winds caused by Ingrid had knocked down the bridge that linked Misantla to the hospital.
"When we arrived they told us there was no way to get to Misantla and my husband went to see if they would let us pass, but they couldn't. They told us a doctor (in a shelter) could help us," said the mother in the video uploaded by the state of Veracruz to YouTube on Tuesday.
The woman and her husband had to be transported to a shelter which did not have the necessary instruments to carry out the delivery. A Civil Protection personnel crossed the destroyed bridge and arriveded at the shelter with the instruments needed to support the delivery.
The baby was born at 11:20 a.m., just as Ingrid lashed out against Mexican soil at its peak.
"When the girl is born, the water whips back, but stronger now. When the girl cried... well, we partied in there. None of us there will forget it," says Nohemí Martínez, a member of the Mexican Red Cross, in the video.
"When she grows up, that girl, I'll tell her the whole story," Dr. Reina Mendoza, who was in charge of the delivery, added with a huge smile in the same video.
The strong rains present in Mexican soil caused the death of 80 people up until Thursday. More than 1,200 people in 12 states were affected. The Mexican Red Cross is receiving donations of supplies in four collection centers located in Ciudad Victoria and Tampico, Tamaulipas, as well as in Acapulco, Guerrero and Mexico City, on 200 Juan Luis Vives street, in Polanco neighborhood. Likewise, the institution is taking cash donations through the Bancomer account 0404040406, branch 683.