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Jacquelyn and Patrick Mitchell will never forget June 21, 2013. Not only was it the day that flood waters invaded their Calgary home; it was also the day their daughter Hana was born.

“I got to enjoy bringing her into this world and then the world crumbled down around us,” says Jacquelyn.

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The Mitchells knew there were flood warnings for the city, but Jacquelyn was more concerned with her contractions. She left her two-year-old twins, Hunter and Halle, with her in-laws and went to Foothills Hospital with husband Patrick for a scheduled C-section.

After Hana was born, Patrick discovered their basement had more than two metres of water in it and the couple learned they wouldn’t be able to return until the house was cleaned out.

“So, I didn’t have a carseat; I didn’t have clothes for her or anything because I didn’t get to go home,” says Jacquelyn.

“It made me feel helpless and alone,” she recalls. “My husband was breaking his back trying to get our house cleaned out, my mom was caring for my twins and I couldn’t do anything to help. It was hard to be stuck in the hospital and it made me feel so sad for Hana, knowing she wasn’t going to be taken home to her house. . . We couldn’t embrace the beauty of our brand new baby fully since we had to deal with the disaster of our home.