Hurricane Helene, Prison Transfers, and Miracles Brought My Wife and I Together

For the first time in over 3 years, my wife and I were in the same room together.

Damian Delune
5 min readOct 14, 2024
Image by Demeter V Delune

Suppose you’d told me or Demeter when the disaster of a hurricane hitting the mountains of western North Carolina occurring would end up with us being able to be in the same room with one another for the first time in over three years. In that case, I’m sure we both would have laughed.

Instead, we both cried a little, because yes, it happened.

For the first time in three years and four days exactly, Demeter and I were in the same room together. We breathed the same air for two hours. We got to hug one another. We got to kiss briefly at the beginning and end of our visit. And we got to hold hands for the majority of the visit, too.

How the fuck?

Because that’s what happens when you’re not six hours one way from home. When you’re not fucked with constantly about your visitation. When the people in charge of your safety (COs) are decent human beings. When the facility genuinely cares about helping you.

Let me back up a little bit.

After being stuck at Mountain View with no power or running water for six days, the powers that be…

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Damian Delune
Damian Delune

Written by Damian Delune

Incarcerated writer sharing real stories about life on the inside, through my wife, Demeter Delune (editor, publisher, promoter, responder)