A Raymond Terrace couple had the surprise of their lives welcoming a baby into the world amid a horrific hurricane in Florida this week.
Dayna Sly was unaware she was 41 weeks pregnant while holidaying with her fiance Tony O'keefe in Florida.The couple told 9News they had flown to the US to visit Walt Disney World, before Hurricane Milton made landfall on October 10.
It was reported Ms Sly went into unexpected labour in the middle of a blackout, and welcomed a baby girl around 5am on October 10 in their Orlando hotel bathroom.
"I [felt] really bloated, going to go to the bathroom, I took a laxative. All of a sudden I knew when the baby was crying," she told 9News.
The couple named their daughter Audrey and remained stuck inside their hotel with no power and no way to get to a hospital. Fortunately Audrey was in good health.
Paramedics were eventually able to get to the new mother and bub and took them to hospital for a check-up.
"I can't believe how well she's doing, considering some of the stuff mum was doing like going on rides and on a plane at 41 weeks pregnant," Ms Sly told Weekend Today.
"I had absolutely no idea and really had no symptoms," she said.
The couple now face legal hurdles in coming back to Australia having birthed their daughter in the USA.
"We've got travel insurance, thank God, but the main concern is trying to get back to Australia," Ms Sly said.
"She's technically got an American birth certificate and at the moment we've been trying to contact the Australian authorities and we were jumping through some hoops yesterday just to get some help."
"When we got the paperwork, it's asking us questions like 'can you confirm if you've known this person for 12 months?'."
The couple told 9News authorities warned it could be months before they can get Audrey back home.
"They said it could be anywhere from a minimum of two months to 5-7 months," Mr O'Keefe said.
"We're Australian citizens... we [can't] live here for almost a year. We would love to go back to Australia "
The couple told 9News they only had accommodation booked for another 10 days.
As of October 11, Hurricane Milton has since ploughed into the Atlantic Ocean after cutting a destructive path across Florida that spawned tornadoes, killed at least 10 people and left millions without power.
But the storm did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared.
