Yvette Wright knew there wasn't much time to waste on the afternoon on April 16, 1998. She was three weeks past her due date, and the birth of her first child seemed imminent as a deadly storm system marched into Middle Tennessee.
At the time, she was 36 years old. Given her age, she was worried about complications, but she never expected an EF-3 tornado to add to the uncertainty of childbirth.
"I knew it was outside my window. I knew something was outside," she recalled
Yvette went into labor at Nashville General Hospital around 2 p.m. on that day 20 years ago. She was the only person to give birth in the hospital that day. As doctors were urging her to push, she could hear glass shattering outside and trees snapping. The neighborhood surrounding the hospital took a direct hit.
"I remember walking outside with my baby, and I walked out into a war zone, and I was like, 'Wow, all of this happened,'" she said two decades later.
Yvette named her son Journey. Journey now lives in Chicago and is a healthy 20-year-old college student studying sports management. His mom is still grateful that, given the circumstances that day, she managed to make a small miracle.
"For me, it's something I'll have the rest of my life," she said.
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