A pair of siblings ran into their father's arms when he returned home to surprise them after 10 days away fixing the devastation Hurricane Helene caused in his state. For Liam Barbour, aged four, and his sister Emerlyn, two, the time they were apart from Jeremiah, 44, felt like an eternity, given the lack of contact they could have, due to the nature of Jeremiah's work. After Helene ripped through North Carolina, Jeremiah, a substation construction worker and lineman from Kenly, North Carolina, was called to help restore power to other parts of North Carolina. Jeremiah worked 16-hour days, his wife, Samantha, 35, said, and because cell service was so poor, the family didn't have many opportunities to connect while he was away.