Story highlights Carmen Delgado finally makes it back to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

Her children were OK, but nothing prepared her for what she saw at home

Humacao, Puerto Rico (CNN) Pray. Wait. Hope. It's all Carmen Delgado has been able to do for days and days.

A vacation in New Jersey had taken her and her husband, Edgardo, off Puerto Rico for a break. But then Hurricane Maria swept across the island , and all they wanted to do was get back to their home, and family.

They booked flight after flight -- only to see them canceled.

They got word that their grown children were OK, but saw pictures that their house was not.

They just wanted to see for themselves, but they couldn't get there.

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