A North Carolina military couple evacuated to Northeast Florida to escape Hurricane Florence will return home with a family double the size.
Danielle and Nicholas Digregorio welcomed twin girls, Scarlett and Sadie, early Thursday morning at Naval Hospital Jacksonville. The couple had arrived in their hometown of St. Augustine Wednesday after a 12-hour drive that would normally take eight.
“I was pretty nervous about if we could make it or not just because of the fact of how far along I was and I was with twins and all the risk factors into that,” Danielle said.
But she said after talking with her family and doctor she decided to make the drive. Danielle was was scheduled be induced Tuesday at 38 weeks.
Despite the close-call, the first-time mom said she’s happy to have had the twins in town with her family.
“It’s been a real life-changing thing. I didn’t expect to be so confident once [the twins] got here,” she said. “I’m ready to see where life takes this journey and see how everything falls into place just like how it has been.”
Nicholas is a Marine corporal stationed at Marine Corps. Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Naval Hospital Jacksonville serves as the National Disaster Medical System federal coordinator for northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.
Reporter Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride
