Peta Blanch and Adrian Bowman have been reunited with their baby daughter Savannah after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
Mum Peta Blanch spent more than a week separated from her extremely premature baby Savannah amid the destruction left by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Ms Blanch and her partner Adrian Bowman, who live in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, were reunited with their tiny daughter on Friday at the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) after floodwaters kept them apart.
Peta Blanch's daughter Savannah has been cared for at Gold Coast University Hospital since she was born 13 weeks early and weighing less than a kilogram. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
It was a "heartbreaking" wait for the couple, who lost their 14-month-old son Zane to sepsis in 2021.
"It's hard after losing Zane to have to leave her in someone else's care and walk away," said Ms Blanch, who is also mum to Sebastian, 8, Nathaniel, 3, and Audrey, 11 months.
But at the same time, she described the staff in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Gold Coast hospital as "like a second family".
Savannah was born on February 9 weighing less than a kilogram. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
"I wouldn't want to leave her anywhere else right now,"
Ms Blanch said.
"They're amazing."
Savannah has been cared for at the hospital since she was born there 13 weeks early and weighing less than a kilogram on February 9.
Ms Blanch was flown by helicopter from Toowoomba to the Gold Coast the night before the birth, to give her daughter access to life-saving neonatal intensive care not available in the garden city.
Peta Blanch expressed gratitude on social media to the nurses who supported her baby. (Supplied: Facebook)
She and her partner have been dividing their time between the Gold Coast and Toowoomba ever since to allow Mr Bowman to continue working as a labourer for a painting company.
They spent most of the lead-up to and the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred waiting it out at home in Toowoomba with their other young children while hospital staff cared for Savannah.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred's aftermath.
Photo shows Kids in Bluey pjs examine a flooded road, road signs in the background
The day before Alfred made landfall as a category one storm, GCUH lost mains power, fuelling Ms Blanch's anxiety about her newborn.
But the hospital's four generators kicked in, ensuring it was "business as usual" inside the health facility until Energex restored mains power a day later.
2,000 workers bunkered down in hospitals
As the cyclone neared the Queensland coast, toppling trees and downing powerlines, more than 2,000 health workers in the state's south bunkered down in hospitals to ensure patients, such as Savannah, were well cared for.
Emergency staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital prepared for the worst. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
Offices, gymnasiums, endoscopy units, and outpatients' areas were converted into staff accommodation, creating what effectively became hospital dormitories.
At the GCUH, workers who slept on stretcher beds in the endoscopy unit last weekend were greeted with flyers saying: "Welcome to Hotel Endoscopy."
How ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred's approach unfolded
Photo shows Dark clouds over Brisbane.
"Some of those things were beautiful, just people who provide care providing care for one another," said Matthew Lunn, Gold Coast Health's Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery.
Mr Lunn doubles as the service's health incident controller during times of disaster.
He said more than 350 workers slept at the GCUH and Robina Hospital during the height of the cyclone and its aftermath.
"We have a number of staff that come from places like northern NSW or in Brisbane and driving those sorts of distances, or commuting those sorts of distances can be really challenging so we made sure our people were safe," Mr Lunn said.
Healthcare workers Jody Lamb and Azalea De Lemos slept at Beaudesert Hospital. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
He said the Varsity Lakes Day Hospital was transformed into an overnight facility, admitting 24 vulnerable patients, including 89-year-old Barbara Payne, during some of the worst weather.
Mr Lunn said Mrs Payne was among 81 Gold Coast patients during the cyclone who did not require acute medical care but needed electricity to run essential medical equipment or required carers that were unavailable amid the torrid weather.
Mrs Payne, who lives alone at Paradise Point, requires supplemental oxygen to carry out everyday tasks.
Barbara Payne spent her time in hospital during the cyclone doing crosswords and having "lots of conversations" with the nurses. (Supplied: Gold Coast Health)
When she lost power during the weather emergency, her oxygen concentrator could not work, leaving her reliant on a portable oxygen cylinder, which would not have lasted through the night.
The widow, who celebrates who 90th birthday this week, was transferred to Varsity Lakes Day Hospital through an agreement between Gold Coast Health and a private ambulance service.
She spent her time doing crosswords, reading magazines and having "lots of conversations" with the nurses.
"The nurses have been wonderful. I can't speak highly enough of them. They're marvellous,"
Mrs Payne said.
Gym turns into childcare to support workers
Up the road in Brisbane, more than 800 staff slept at Metro South health facilities last weekend, including the Princess Alexandra, Logan, Redland, Queen Elizabeth II, and Beaudesert hospitals.
"We wanted to make sure that our staff and our patients were safe so trying to get as many people off the roads," Metro South's chief operating officer Paula Foley said.
Redland Satellite Health Centre midwives with volunteer marine rescue. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
While senior medical specialists and nurses were among those who bunkered down during the extreme storm, maintenance workers also slept at hospitals overnight to ensure water leaks could be rectified quickly.
At the QEII Hospital in Coopers Plains, a minibus transferred patients and staff from their vehicles in the open-air car park to the hospital entrance as the cyclone brought its wrath.
Doctor Jadwiga Ogorman and Doctor Kate Allen bunkered down together. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
"We were doing everything from every angle to make sure they were safe,"
Ms Foley said.
She said the health service's disaster management plan had been well informed by past severe weather events.
A gym at the Princess Alexandra Hospital — one of the state's largest health facilities — was converted into temporary childcare and staffed by occupational therapists to provide emergency childcare for the essential workers.
West of Brisbane, floods created by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred surrounded Boonah and Laidley hospitals, both in the West Moreton Health district.
Some Princess Alexandra Hospital staff created a makeshift a child care service. (Supplied: Queensland Health)
Rural generalist doctor Juni Jobson was flown by helicopter into Laidley Hospital on Monday night to relieve another doctor who had been on call 24/7 at the facility for "four or five days".
"We were half-jokingly saying: 'Maybe we should take kayaks,'"
Dr Jobson said.
Juni Jobson was flown into Laidley Hospital by helicopter to relieve another doctor. (Supplied)
"There were many staff who could not go home, so they were all living in the hospital both in Boonah and in Laidley — so nurses, doctors and operational staff.
"They could not go home. One of the nurses who worked with me … she was there for one week straight."
After days of separation, Ms Blanch held Savannah in her arms again on Friday afternoon.
"As soon as she gets cuddles, she just melts into us,"
Ms Blanch said.
"She's going great. She's put on weight."