Baby Was Born with a Hole in Her Heart When Hurricane Hit. Mom Still Tears Up Remembering How She Survived

Today, Kayla Welch is a healthy 20-year-old preparing to graduate from college. But her life began under extremely difficult circumstances. She was born prematurely with a hole in her heart — and she was still in the hospital when Hurricane Katrina struck.

“I tell everybody, ‘This kid here, she is a miracle baby,’” says her mother, Paula, 46, of Minden, Louisiana.

Kayla’s story was first shared in the Dec. 26, 2005 issue of PEOPLE. She was born 14 weeks early on May 30, 2005, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Doctors had previously told Paula that carrying a baby to full term would not be possible. When Kayla was born, she had underdeveloped lungs, a heart defect, and even needed part of her intestine removed because of a medication her mother had been prescribed. “Then everything was fine,” Paula recalls. “Like nothing ever happened.”

To receive specialized treatment, Kayla was moved to a children’s hospital in New Orleans. Paula and her fiancé, who lived in Bossier City, made regular weekend trips to visit her.

Just before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, hospital staff asked families to leave the building for safety reasons. Paula didn’t want to leave her daughter but had no choice.

Back home in Bossier City, she relied on updates from Kayla’s nurses. “They were absolutely wonderful,” she says. “Even though many of them were losing their own homes, they stayed with the children and kept me informed every hour.”

Eventually, all the children were evacuated to Baton Rouge. “It was just a crazy time,” Paula says. “But everything went smoothly.”

She wasn’t able to see Kayla for two weeks, which she describes as heartbreaking. “As a parent being separated from a child, it’s horrible. And to have that separation during a disaster like Katrina… it still brings tears to my eyes.”

When Kayla was finally discharged, she went home with an apnea monitor to track her heart rate and breathing. Paula remembers the device going off frequently, sometimes even when a fire truck passed by.

“That was only for about a year,” she says. “After that, she was fine. Today, she has no health problems and is living her life.”

Paula has since remarried, and Kayla now proudly carries her stepfather’s last name. Looking back, Paula says she’s amazed at her daughter’s strength and resilience.

“The Lord was working for us because she’s still here today,” Paula says. “She’s doing great. Absolutely wonderful.”