Couple welcome baby during Hurricane Milton

A Florida couple says they’re grateful everything turned out well after they unexpectedly welcomed their baby a few days early during Hurricane Milton.
Kenzie Lewellen told “Good Morning America” she started getting contractions in the early morning of Oct. 9 as rain was coming down in Port Charlotte, Florida, where she lives with her boyfriend Dewey Bennett III.
The young couple said they were particularly nervous as hurricane conditions started to pick up because Bennett’s late father, Dewey Bennett, Jr., had a heart attack during Hurricane Irma and because he couldn’t be transported to a hospital and treated in time, died on Sept. 15, 2017.
“My dad passed away during Hurricane Irma, so I was really nervous on how we were going to get to the hospital because the ambulance couldn’t get to him fast enough [in 2017],” Bennett, 24, told “GMA.”
They decided to make the risky 30-minute journey to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice themselves, along with Lewellen’s mother, in case emergency medical services couldn’t reach them at home in high wind conditions.
“We wanted to get in here before the storm came because we were really nervous that I was going to go into labor during the storm and then have no way to get to the hospital,” Lewellen, 22, said from her hospital bed.
“I just prayed and prayed that they were going to admit us,” Bennett added.
At Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Lewellen was admitted but then had a complicated laboring process for over five hours. Doctors told Lewellen and Bennett their baby was not in an ideal position for delivery.
“They called it sunny side up. So [the baby] was head down but he was facing the wrong way … and he was way too high up to come out,” Lewellen recalled.
Hours after arriving at the hospital, Lewellen needed to undergo a C-section that required full anesthesia.
“It was tough not being able to go back there. … It took them a little over an hour but in my head, it took about five hours,” Bennett said of his anxious wait.
But at 11:44 p.m. on Oct. 9, Dewey Lester Bennett IV was born, weighing in at 8 pounds.
“I actually got to hold him first, and so, we had a little me on him time,” Bennett said of meeting his son for the first time. “When I first held him, I just thanked God, honestly, because we wouldn’t be able to do it and have a healthy baby without him watching over us.”
“Little Dewey,” as his mom said they’re likely to call him, was originally due Oct. 13 and despite his early arrival during a hurricane, is doing well.
“It was all worth it because we have a beautiful little boy,” Lewellen said. “He is fantastic. He’s just the most content little baby. He’s not super fussy, which is awesome and he’s healthy as can be as well.”
“This is the biggest blessing ever,” added Lewellen.
Aside from their baby’s healthy outcome, Lewellen and Bennet said they feel immensely thankful for the care they’ve received at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
“We’ve had several amazing nurses. All the doctors were amazing. They just made the whole process very, very easy,” said Lewellen.
“Little Dewey” was one of seven babies delivered during Milton, according to Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, which praised their dedicated hospital staff in a statement to “GMA.”
“We couldn’t be prouder of our team. They left their homes and many left their families to be here for our patients and community during one of the most alarming hurricanes approaching the Suncoast,” said David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.
Lewellen hopes to be discharged Saturday along with her son Dewey.
Dr. Mahir Qureshi is an internal medicine physician resident at Cooper University Hospital and a member of the ABC Medical Unit.