It’s a girl!
One family in Puerto Rico had something to celebrate amid the storm-ravaged island’s cleanup attempt in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria – a newborn delivered on the U.S. Navy’s floating hospital.
The USNS Comfort was sailing in the vicinity the island’s capital, San Juan, to provide medical assistance in devastated regions when Sara Victoria Llull Rodriguez entered the world at 6 pounds and 8 ounces on Saturday, ABC News reported.
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The baby’s father, Francisco Llull Vera said in a statement Sunday that he hopes Sara’s birth “opens the door” for others to seek help on the ship.
“I never thought that our special moment would happen here on this ship,” Llull Vera, said. “Everyone has been so helpful and gentle while caring for our baby.”
Sara’s mother, Tania Rodriguiz Ramos, thanked the doctors and nurses on board the ship, saying, “It’s a huge blessing for Sara to be here.”
Sara’s elder siblings, 6-year-old Alonzo and 4-year-old Sofia, are anxiously ashore awaiting their new sister’s arrival, their mother said.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said the newborn is the first Puerto Rican girl to be born on the USNS Comfort. The governor visited the family after the birth.
The ship’s captain, Kevin Robinson, said Sara has “reinvigorated” the crew.
The crew ceremoniously renamed one of its two small boat tenders to “Sara Victoria” to commemorate the occasion.
“We wanted to do something special, the crew has taken to the baby as one of our own,” Comfort Ship’s Master Roger Gwinn Gwinn said in a statement. “As she goes forward in life, we hope she carries Comfort with her.”
The ship currently has 21 people on board and has treated more than 100 people since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island on Sept. 20. The storm killed 48 people and destroyed the power grid, leaving most of the island in the dark.
The last time a baby was born aboard the Comfort was Jan. 21, 2010, when the ship was in Haiti providing humanitarian relief following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
(H/T: ABC News)