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Coast Guard pilot reunites with pregnant woman he rescued in Hurricane Harvey
A Houston-area woman was actively in labor while Hurricane Harvey flooded the city, and Sunday she was reunited with the Coast Guard pilot who rescued them.
HOUSTON - It’s a reunion five years in the making.
The story first started when Hurricane Harvey, back in 2017, was wreaking havoc in Houston. Kristy and Kyle Lorio were hunkered down. Kristy was 38 weeks pregnant at the time.
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"I wasn’t expecting to go into labor, but things change, things happen, and started having labor pains," she said.
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FOX 26 Houston team reflects on Hurricane Harvey
Five years ago, our FOX 26 family was with you before, during and after Hurricane Harvey. The team looks back on efforts to bring around-the-clock coverage to keep the community safe and informed, while also trying to keep themselves and their families safe.
They didn't know what to do as all streets around them were underwater.
"We’re like loading the bathtub up with water," said Kyle. "We had liked 20 people in our living room at one point."
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Shortly after, a social media post caught the attention of the U.S. Coast Guard.
"We had a notification of location, a woman going into labor," said Lieutenant Commander Andrew Breen.
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US Coast Guard looks back on the more than 11,000 rescues made during Hurricane Harvey
With the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey upon us, we are talking to the United States Coast Guard as they look back on that day, when they performed more than 11,000 rescues by air and by boats. FOX 26 Photojournalist Darlene Janik Faires spoke with two of the Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimmers, Petty Officer Tyler Gantt and Chief Graham McGinnis, about those rescues.
He and his crew rescued the pair and safely landed at Memorial Hermann where now-5-year-old Wesley was born.
"Without them, I don’t even know if I’d have my son," Kyle said.
RELATED: PTSD lingers for some Houstonians 5 years after Hurricane Harvey
On Sunday, the Lorios finally got to meet Breen, and thank him for saving them that day. They brought along a specially-made plaque to commemorate his heroic actions.
"It’s not something you do every day, but when you do it, it’s rewarding," Breen said. "And you’re so thankful that one, we have the training and the opportunity to do it, and two, that we can have the effect that we do."