Baby with Umbilical Cord Still Attached Left at Urgent Care, Answers Strangers' Prayer
Adopting a child is just as much a blessing for many couples as having biological children. However, many times, that adopted child’s journey begins when a mother decides to give her baby up to one of the few places that will take it with no questions asked.
It was late on a Tuesday night when Access Medical Center Urgent Care heard a knock on their door, opening it to find a mother holding her newborn baby. Though it was a first for the Oklahoma-based center, Director Dr. Steve Nussbaum admitted that it was a “safe place” for women like her.
Staff noticed the recently-delivered baby still had its umbilical cord attached, its body wrapped in a towel. Nussbaum recalled the heartbreaking story the mother gave, admitting she was homeless and unable to care for the baby boy, but still wanting him to be safe.
“She wanted to make sure her child was in a safe place,” he said. “I think those words were actually used by her at one point. And then she made the decision to leave.”
The woman handed a nurse the baby and left, her hard decision clearly a blessing in disguise amid stories of abandoned newborns worldwide.
“It’s sad because there’s a mother that made a really, really hard decision, but there’s also probably a family out there that’s probably going to get an opportunity to pour into the life of the child,” said Waleska Ferreria, who often works with homeless, expecting mothers.
In fact, it wouldn’t take long at all before the small baby would find a family to do just that.
Todd and Amy had just moved to Oklahoma with their two kids when they felt like it was time to welcome another into their family. Not a month after making that generous decision, they’d received a call from the adoption agency, urging them to stop by.
“I asked if we could come by and sign the papers when we got back in town,” Amy recalled. “But they were very adamant that Todd and I needed to come by as soon as possible.”
And it just so happened that Todd had seen news of the baby boy’s delivery to the Urgent Care, and pointed it out to his wife.
“I said, ‘That is the saddest thing ever. Do you think that is our baby?'” she recalled. “Todd said, ‘I doubt it. He’s probably pretty sick.'”
Little did the couple know that, as Amy left to go get the paperwork on that one-mile drive, their life was about to be changed for the better. When she’d arrived at the adoption agency, however, she could see the staff were visibly emotional, leading her to fear that the adoption process had suddenly fallen through.
That’s when a staff member handed Amy a newspaper with the familiar headline of a baby being left at Urgent Care.
“‘Oh my gosh, Todd just told me about this little one,’” Amy said. The staff then told her that the baby was waiting for the couple in the NICU. “He’s yours,” they said.
Staff admitted later that they had been emotional due to Amy and Todd being a match for the baby so quickly and at just the right time. “They had just witnessed God,” Amy said.
Not long after, the family packed up and drove down to the hospital to greet the newborn for the first time. “When we finally got to him, we knew instantly he was ours,” Amy said. “He was so perfect!”
Through fostering and after a years-long adoption process, the baby boy was officially their child. Now 2 years old, he is not only happy, but healthy, and brings a smile to his parents’ faces, who admit that his life is nothing short of a miracle.
“God moved some might big mountains to align our paths,” Amy said, giving special thanks to all involved in the journey. “It has been a huge reminder that God’s plan is better than we could ever imagine.”
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