In a beautiful twist of fate, a newborn was delivered to Ocala Fire Rescue’s Fire Station No. 1 in Ocala, Florida, and has now found a new, permanent home.
According to a firefighter who chose to remain anonymous, the incident occurred on January 2 during his night shift. At 2 am, an alarm went off indicating that a baby had been left in the department’s Safe Haven Baby Box.
What is a baby box?
The website says, “A Baby Box is a security device provided by the state’s Safe Haven Act and legally allows a mother in crisis to turn herself in safely and anonymously if she is unable to care for her newborn.”
This innovative device allows people to safely deliver a newborn who requires attention beyond their means.
The firefighter shared this account with TODAY. “To be honest, I thought it was a false alarm.” said the firefighter to the medium.
According to Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG-TV, the firefighter found a girl wrapped in a pink blanket when he opened the box.
“She had a little bottle with her, and she was just chilling out.” reminded of TODAY.
“I picked her up and held her. We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since.”
The firefighter, who works as both a paramedic and a person facing a decade-long struggle to conceive a child with his wife, was contemplating adoption.
In order to take the baby to the hospital, he also inquired about the possibility of adopting her.
“I didn’t call my wife right away because I didn’t want to wake her up, but I knew she would be on board.” he said.
The firefighter wrote a note to accompany the girl, sharing the struggles he and his wife had faced trying to have a child and expressing his willingness to care for her.
In the note, he mentioned that they had completed all the necessary adoption classes in Florida and were looking forward to receiving a child.
Courtesy of Zoey’s family/ABC
Returning home from work, the firefighter informed his wife of the events, which brought her to tears. However, he remained cautious, fearing that the note would not stay with the baby, which could lead to her disappearance. Those were stressful days for the couple.
Fortunately, the baby, named Zoey by the couple, went home with them on January 4, two days after being placed in the Safe Haven Baby Box.
He stayed with them for several months until his official adoption in April.
Reflecting on the sequence of events, the firefighter expressed his disbelief and found it difficult to hold back tears as he told the story.
He attributed their remarkable encounter to divine intervention, believing that God had helped them.
By sharing his story, the firefighter wanted to reassure Zoey’s birth mother that her son was well cared for and loved beyond measure.
Zoey was the first baby placed in the Ocala Fire Rescue Safe Haven baby box, introduced in December 2020, the fire department announced on Facebook.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey, speaking at a press conference in January, expressed her excitement about the baby’s future with her adoptive family, emphasizing the importance of protecting babies from abandonment.
According to the Safe Haven Baby Box website, there are currently 148 active devices in the United States, with 40 different communities working on deploying the Safe Haven Baby Box at local hospitals or fire stations.
Across the country, a total of 31 babies have been safely delivered using Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn