Hurricane Gustav represents a loss for many, but for the Bonilla family it’s a gain — in the form of baby girl Adassa, born in Vicksburg to the evacuees.

Seven-pound, 13-ounce Adassa was born Tuesday afternoon at River Region Medical Center. Her mother, Blanca, said the new arrival has put everything into perspective for her and the child’s father, Juan Carlos.

“This has all put the hurricane in the back seat,” she said. “I haven’t thought about it much. Going through evacuations teaches you to value what is important — your family and kids. As long as they’re safe then… well, that is all that matters.”

When the Bonillas, along with their 22-month-old son, Adrian, and their dog, CoCo, decided to evacuate from their home in LaPlace, La., they had no choice but to plan a route for Memphis, nearly a full day’s drive from their home, but the only place they could find available was a hotel room. Then a phone call from a friend changed everything.

“I was worried about going to Memphis,” Blanca said. “It was so far away and we didn’t know anybody there. We knew the baby was probably going to come and we really wanted to be able to ask about hospitals and doctors… But then Jim called and said ‘come stay with us.’”

So the Bonillas packed up the bare essentials and left LaPlace Saturday, heading for Port Gibson and the home of friends Jim and Melanie Horn.

“I brought my medical records and a car seat for Adassa, but I had to leave most of the stuff we had gotten for her at home,” said Blanca Bonilla. “As soon as we arrived in Port Gibson I asked about hospitals and they brought me (to River Region) so I could look around. I felt so much better after I got here and saw the rooms and met the doctors. Having a baby is something that takes months and months of planning and it is hard to not even know where you’ll be when the baby comes.”

A Caesarean section was initially scheduled for today in Metairie, La., and Blanca was expecting the baby to come around that time, but the little girl had other ideas. Monday, the Bonillas rushed to the hospital only to find out it was false labor, false labor on Labor Day as Blanca jokingly termed it. They were right back early Tuesday morning for the real thing. Adassa Bonilla was born at 1:30 p.m.

“We named her after Queen Esther in the Bible,” said Blanca, as she cuddled her newborn daughter close. “Adassa was her name before they changed it so she could be the queen.”

The Bonillas are still unsure of the extent of the damage to their home, though Blanca said she heard the damage was much worse in LaPlace than it was in New Orleans, and for a family with Katrina still fresh on their minds, not knowing has been unnerving.

“I have been much calmer about it than my husband,” said Blanca. “He went on back to try and see if he could get to the house. I am just waiting for him to call.”

The family, who evacuated to Baton Rouge during Katrina, had to replace their roof, carport and fence following the 2005 storm.

“We’ll go back as soon as the utilities are back on, but right now we are just extremely happy to be here,” said Blanca Bonilla, adding that the Horns are excited for her to bring Adassa back to their house after they’re both released from River Region Friday. “Everything turned out perfectly. And she’ll be special because she’s the only one of us to be born in Mississippi. She’ll be my Mississippi girl.”