Parents Name Baby Born during Hurricane and Flooding Noah Harvey
Contributed By Jason Swensen, Church News staff writer
Two-year-old Jonas Wheeler kisses his newborn brother, Noah Harvey Wheeler. The baby was born on August 29, 2017, as Tropical Storm Harvey was dropping several feet of rainwater on their hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
Article Highlights
- Noah Harvey Wheeler was born during Tropical Storm Harvey.
- Noah’s mother was transported safely to the hospital despite floodwaters.
- The baby's middle name reflects the unique circumstances of his birth.
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BEAUMONT, TEXAS
Welcome Noah Harvey Wheeler—one of flood-weary Beaumont’s newest Mormons. And if the newborn baby could only talk, he’d have a heck of a birthday story to tell.
Beaumont has endured an awful week. Tropical Storm Harvey dumped several feet of rain in the region, leaving sections of this southeast Texas community both inundated and isolated. As of Tuesday, clean water service had not been entirely restored here.
But Kallen and Dru Wheeler’s expectant baby boy wasn’t interested in waiting out the rains. Dru went into labor last Tuesday morning even as the storm was raging across Beaumont.
Labor pains are stressful for families under the best of circumstances. But Dru’s contractions began “even as the flood waters in our home were just starting to rise,” said Kallen, the elders quorum president in the Beaumont 1st Ward, Beaumont Texas Stake.
The Wheelers knew the baby was on its way. “When we saw the water coming in, it was a shock, so we said a quick prayer,” said Dru, who teaches the Sunbeams in Primary. “I knew I needed to get to the hospital.”
Kallen called 911 in hopes of securing an ambulance to transport Dru to the hospital. No luck. The only available vehicle at that treacherous moment was a high-clearance emergency truck. With an EMT riding shotgun, the truck driver navigated across flooded streets to the Wheelers’ home.
Dru was carefully lifted into the cab of the truck, but there was no room for Kallen and their 2-year-old son, Jonas. The young father and son returned to their home to move as many valuables as possible above the rising waterline. Then they jumped into the family SUV, intent on joining up with Dru at Beaumont’s Baptist Hospital.
The SUV never made it. During their drive, storm waters flooded the vehicle and the engine gave out. With the help of a few strangers, Kallen was able to push the stalled SUV to a reasonably dry spot, but it still wouldn’t start.
Noah Harvey Wheeler was born August 29, 2017, even while Tropical Storm Harvey was raging across his hometown of Beaumont, Texas. Photo courtesy of Kallen Wheeler.
Undeterred, Kallen lifted Jonas atop his shoulders and started walking in the direction of the hospital.
“A guy pulled up, told me he wouldn’t let us keep walking, and picked us up,” said Kallen. “He was a stranger—just a good Samaritan.”
Kallen and Jonas went to the man’s house, where they were given dry towels and something to eat. Then Kallen called a friend who owns a high-clearance truck and asked for a ride to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Dru had arrived safely at the hospital. She hadn’t planned on delivering the baby without her husband at her side. But she was comforted to learn Kallen and Jonas were safe and dry. “And the nurses at the hospital were awesome,” she added.
By the time the friend arrived to pick up Kallen, Baby Noah was ready for his own arrival. No time to wait. But with the help of the nursing staff, the Wheelers’ connected on their cell phones via FaceTime. Moments later, Kallen witnessed, electronically, the birth of his second son.
“I consider us to be pretty blessed,” he said. “And I was ecstatic to be a part of that experience.”
Both mom and baby (8 pounds, 10 ounces) made it through the delivery in great shape—and the family was reunited at the hospital about 30 minutes later.
Dru and the baby were discharged two days later, just moments before Baptist Hospital had to be evacuated. The Wheeler home suffered some water damage, but not enough to force them out. They’re using fans around the house to dry everything.
And, yes, the couple had planned to name their baby Noah long before the rains came down and the floods came up across Beaumont. Any connection between the newborn and an ancient, flood-savvy prophet is purely coincidental, laughed Kallen.
But the child’s middle name Harvey was a stormy birthday surprise. It will forever serve as a reminder of a remarkable day of floods and blessings.
