The story of a newborn baby boy left at a Kentucky fire station is being told by the couple who became his adoptive parents. Brittany and Chris Tyler are foster parents, and in May 2022, Brittany was scrolling through social media when she stumbled upon a story about a child who'd been surrendered under the state's Safe Infant Act. Instantly, Brittany began hoping for the child to be placed with her and her husband. She told TODAY.com, “I started praying that he would be placed with us, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up."
As details unraveled, the adoptive parents later learned that the birth mother had placed him in a shoebox with a blanket, leaving a handwritten note that explained how she wasn’t able to properly care for him. At the bottom of the note she wrote, "I love you."
And for Brittany, she says her "prayers were answered." The couple received a call about being foster parents for the child, just days before he was surrendered at the fire station.
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The Tylers adopted Samuel, the name they chose for him, on December 18, 2023, after being his foster parents for 581 days. Now, 20 months old, he joins his brothers 8-year-old Judah and 5-year-old Calvin.
When the couple first got introduced to the baby, he weighed just a little over 3 pounds and was in the NICU. The Tylers were specifically chosen to foster Samuel because they typically foster medically fragile babies.
“I remember holding him in the my arms and knowing right off the bat, ‘This is my boy. This is the next member of our family,’” Chris shared. And Samuel's brothers felt the same way. Chris shared that Judah and Calvin, who were also adopted, were immediately drawn to their little brother.
After years of struggling with infertility, the Tylers feel blessed to have their family. “All I ever wanted was to be a mom,” Brittany said, also sharing that they're currently in the process of adopting a foster daughter.
"Samuel is obsessed with her. He tries to pick her up like baby doll and she just takes it," she said. She also spoke of how Samuel's addition has brought joy to the family. “Everybody lives for Samuel’s hugs. He’s such a cuddly kid.”
Brittany and Chris decided to save the note from Samuel's birth mother for him to read when he gets older. They also let him sleep with the blanket he was surrendered in. "I made it into a teddy bear," Brittany explained. "So that he always has a piece of her."
