Hurricane Hugo Series: Hugo's Youngest Survivor

By Terrie Hoover

For the Dixon family of Charlotte, N.C., Hurricane Hugo proved that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining. At 1 AM Friday morning September 22, Jane Dixon was keeping one eye on the escalating storm and the other on her watch. Her third child was due any day and her contractions had begun a few hours earlier. By 3 o'clock, contractions were three minutes apart so she decided to wake her husband, Dale, and their children, Jennifer (12) and Jonathan (9), for the trip to the hospital.

By 3:30 they were dressed and on their way, but it was soon obvious they would never reach the hospital. The majestic oaks and lofty pines that had lined Carmel Road had been uprooted. They twisted and flung to the ground like matchsticks, pulling down power lines and poles as they went, and still the storm raged, growing in power every minute. The family took a frantic detour through their neighborhood trying to find a way around the carnage, but all the streets were similarly blocked. As Dale turned down one blind alley after another, Jane's water broke and the contractions began coming faster.

Dale turned the car for home. The whole family helped Jane in the house and into bed. She was already having the urge to push, so Dale called a midwife they had met when they were considering having the baby at home, for help. (Jane had been dissuaded by her doctor from delivering at home because of her age and the fact she'd have no diagnostic tests such as amniocentesis or ultrasound during her pregnancy.)

The midwife instructed Dale how to cut and tie the umbilical cord and clear the baby's mouth and nose of mucous. There were hundreds of "what if" questions Dale wanted to ask, but he was afraid of frightening Jane.

While Jennifer boiled shoelaces and a pair of scissors, and Jonathan held the flashlight, Dale Dixon delivered his daughter, Julia Dixon, at 4:15 AM.

Jane and Dale were too wrapped up in the birth to take much notice of the storm, but Jonathan confessed he was very frightened.

"A tree crashed through our next door neighbor's garage," he remembers. "Trees crashing down all around the house and the wind roared like a freight train, but I don't think anybody else noticed."

"It seemed we were being looked after," Jane says. "The more we saw of the storm's devastation, the more aware we became of just how lucky we were. Having a baby is a very spiritual experience under any condition, but we felt especially blessed after Julia's birth."

"Our only choices were to panic or not to panic," Dale added. The Dixons were without power for five days after the birth so the children moved cots and sleeping bags into their parents room for the duration.

"It was a very close family time," Jane said. "We do everything together as a family anyway, but I think the children feel very close to their new sister now."

Dale and his neighbors spent three days clearing trees and debris from the yard and driveway so Julia could be taken to the family pediatrician for an exam. There were no lights and the examining rooms were too dark, so the doctor cleared magazines off the coffee table in his waiting room and examined the baby by flashlight pronouncing her "a beautiful and healthy girl."

Charlotte quickly took it's newest citizen to heart and proclaimed her "Hugo's Youngest Survivor."