Beyond the Box
Beyond the Box with Monica Kelsey is a powerful podcast dedicated to raising awareness, educating the public, and advocating for change in the fight against infant abandonment. Hosted by Monica Kelsey, Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, this podcast dives deep into real stories, expert insights, and the life-saving impact of Safe Haven laws and baby box programs across the country.
Each episode features compelling conversations with firefighters, legal experts, healthcare professionals, policymakers, adoptive families, and even mothers who have used Safe Haven Baby Boxes. Together, they shed light on the challenges, victories, and ongoing efforts to provide safe, legal, and anonymous surrender options for parents in crisis.
From heartwarming rescue stories to policy discussions shaping the future, Beyond the Box is a must-listen for anyone passionate about saving lives and supporting vulnerable infants.
Beyond the Box
How A Missouri Fire Chief Handles Anonymous Newborn Surrenders
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A fire chief is on a conference call with three attorneys when his phone lights up and the camera feed shows something he has trained for but never actually seen: a newborn inside a Safe Haven Baby Box. He blurts out “There’s a baby,” walks away from the call, and immediately shifts into a mission where failure is not an option.
We talk with Chief Hendricks of the Melville Fire Protection District about becoming Missouri’s first Safe Haven Baby Box location, the public pressure that came with it, and the behind the scenes systems that make anonymous newborn surrender safe. We get specific about the redundant layers that protect infant safety, including alarms, 911 monitoring, dispatch, and a camera view designed to show only the baby while protecting a mother’s anonymity. Then we relive the first surrender moment by moment, including the emotions firefighters do not always say out loud and the lingering question that never goes away: is the mom okay?
The second surrender changes the station’s mindset, but it also exposes a bigger problem after the ambulance leaves. When the baby is placed with a foster parent on the department, the adoption process turns into a yearlong maze of counties that do not coordinate, delayed birth certificates, and paperwork rejections over tiny formatting issues. We explore what a better system could look like, from a dedicated statewide safe haven adoption attorney to limits on adoption agency fees so families are not priced out of doing the right thing.
If you care about safe haven laws, crisis pregnancy resources, adoption reform, or how fire departments serve families at their most vulnerable, listen through and share this one. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what you think should change first.
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Welcome And The Long Drive
SPEAKER_01We are in the studio today with Chief Hendricks, who you might remember from Melville, Missouri. He is the fire chief of Melville, and they've had two babies in their box. So we're going to talk to him today. You do not want to miss this episode. Thank you for coming. All the way to Woodward, Indiana for starters. I mean, what is it, six hours?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, if you don't forget about Indianapolis traffic during rush hour.
SPEAKER_01Did you hit it?
SPEAKER_00We were that was about seven and a half.
SPEAKER_01Seven and a half hours, yeah. It is a little bit of a jot drive, you know. And Joe and I were driving that the day before you because we did a blessing in in Missouri. Yeah. And uh we were worried about the flooding, you know, flooding all over Indiana. And we were seeing some streets that were like literally like just covered with water.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But thankfully, uh the interstates were were good.
SPEAKER_00So we uh Yeah, it was pretty smooth.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks for driving all the way over here. Of course. Appreciate it. So for those who don't know much about you, why are you so important to Monica Kelsey?
SPEAKER_00Well, Monica Kelsey and Safe Haven Baby Box uh brought some, you know, something very special into my department, into my life. I mean, it's uh I've been blessed with uh four daughters, so I'm a girl dad.
SPEAKER_01You're a girl dad.
SPEAKER_00I am through and through. And uh, you know, I heard about Safe Haven baby boxes, and when we were uh able to bring them to my department, uh, it just really struck home with me. I I thought to myself, you know, what uh what it must be like to be a woman in crisis and uh be faced with these uh horrible decisions. And luckily, we have been blessed with two babies that have been surrendered at our uh house two location. We have since put in a second box at our headquarters.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00So we now have two active boxes, and we sit right at the Missouri-Ellinois border. So, you know, we're hoping to reach out to the to the residents of Illinois as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because Illinois does not have baby boxes. No, they don't. Yeah, they don't they don't allow for an anonymous surrender at all. And so
Why Melville Installed Baby Boxes
SPEAKER_01so you being so close is pivotal, I think, for some women that want to have the anonymity, but also live in a different state.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, absolutely. And we literally sit right on the border.
SPEAKER_01So you guys were the first box in Missouri.
SPEAKER_00We were, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And um, and we worked pretty closely with you at the beginning, you know. Mr. Murphy, is he a senator?
SPEAKER_00Uh state representative. State representative.
SPEAKER_01Jim Murphy, yeah. Yeah. So, and he he pretty much spearheaded the the drive to get this to Missouri, which took what, two years, I think.
SPEAKER_00Two years.
SPEAKER_01I think it took two years. And so, and then once it was all done, we had you sign the contract and then we were ready to go. And what was your I always love to ask this question because when people meet me, it's kind of like, oh my God, you know, like what the hell? And so, what was your first impression when you actually met me? Not when you talked to us on the phone, but when you actually, when I actually walked into your fire station, we decided to do, well, we did training because back then I was in the studio or I was in the fire station doing training. Yeah. So what was your thoughts?
SPEAKER_00My first, well, you know, of course, you know, we we have a very large fire protection district. Um we have about 180 frontline employees. And I thought, okay, we're gonna do some training on something that no one has ever done, and firemen can be firemen.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_00Right. And I've had run into issues in that with that in the past. So I'm thinking to myself, okay, how is this going to work? Talking about something that no one has ever done, talking about something that, you know, firemen struggle with two things change and the way things are.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right. And when I met you, I realized, oh, she's going to eat them alive. Like she's a hurricane. You know, and uh because you know, that sometimes, you know, you get the the you you get some people that come in, and the next thing you know, the eyes start to roll or people start to to wander. They were pretty dialed in. I think they realized real quick, okay, there's people that you that you kind of mess with, and then there's people that you don't. And I think they realize real quick that's not one you mess with.
SPEAKER_01I love, I love listening to people when I come in because it's like I think most places think of the, you know, this, you know, the CEO, this founder of this company, you know, very professional, very, you know, put together. I'm not put together, Brian. I'm I'm just not. I'm just a hot mess most days. Right. But I get it. But you know what? I own it. And uh, and I think that's one thing with firefighters and medics. It's like we're not together most days, but when it counts, we're together. Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00You know, and so no doubt about it.
SPEAKER_01So, anyway, so okay, so let's let's let's dive in here because I'm so I'm so excited about having you on because the first baby that you got, I talk about this a lot. I talk about your reaction to this because I almost lost it. Yeah, I was in New Mexico at this literally the state house waiting to go into the governor's office and you call my phone. Now, most people know that I video everything. And so I literally have this call on video with you. I had to bleep some words out.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. I'm sure you did.
SPEAKER_01And so, okay, so so let's talk about that because I think that'll be interesting to a lot of people because you had never had a baby in your box before. No, I don't think you guys had ever had a safe surrender at that point. No, we had not. Okay, so this was completely new. I mean, you guys had the training, you guys were prepared, but it's still it's it's still weird. It is.
SPEAKER_00It's yeah, the thing uh for me in the position that I'm in, and then I think a lot of it's my personality, is that I pretty much worry about everything, right? That's your job though, too. It is. You know, we we we're one of the largest fire districts in the in St. Louis County. We run over 20,000 calls. I walk the path of what it of you know, the unthinkable happening to any of my people. I worry about them, I worry about their safety. And then when this comes along, okay, so now I'm worrying about this, right? Okay, when's it gonna happen? Is it gonna happen in the day? No, most likely it's gonna happen at night. Are we ready? Do we have everything? Have we rehearsed it enough? Does everybody understand the importance of it? Do we have the systems in place and have the redundant systems in place? And has the testing been successful? I mean, I oversaw the testing for two weeks prior to the one week of required testing because I just knew this is one you can't miss. Yeah. Like
Training Firefighters For A New Call
SPEAKER_00you cannot miss, right? So yeah, so I'm a nervous wreck. I'm checking in with the captains every day. And the the engine house sits on on Telegraph Road, which is a major thoroughfare in in our in our in our very busy highway. Very busy road, yeah. And so it was a normal day. It was a, it was uh, I believe it was a Tuesday. I'm sitting in the office. I have two screens. I'm I'm on the I'm on a conference call with uh three attorneys, which I would rather have been at the dentist, to be honest with you, but I was on the phone with three attorneys.
SPEAKER_01Or the gatekology.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And I'm sitting there and we're having this conversation. And I the in the in the redundant systems that we have in place, I have a camera in the box that goes right to my phone.
SPEAKER_01Well, and let's clear it, let's make sure that everybody understands this. This camera is specifically on the infant that is being placed in the box, has no contact with mom, no visual You can see nothing.
SPEAKER_00Yep, except baby. Except it's where it sits, you can see nothing. Yep, you can see the light, the natural light when the door opens, but you cannot see a figure. You can see nothing.
SPEAKER_01Yep, except baby.
SPEAKER_00Right. So my phone goes off. I immediately think it's Wednesday, and my brain says, It's not Wednesday. And I hit the button.
SPEAKER_01Is Wednesday testing for us?
SPEAKER_00Wednesday's test day for us.
SPEAKER_01Ah, okay, I understand now.
SPEAKER_00So Wednesday's test day for us. So I immediately look at my phone and boom, there she is. And I'm looking, and the attorneys are asking me a question, and I I remember like it was yesterday. I just went like this, and I said, There's a baby. There, there's a baby. And I said it three times.
SPEAKER_01And I And they're probably looking at you like the couple is he talking about.
SPEAKER_00They have no clue what I'm talking about. And the third one was not it's a baby, it was it's real, there's really a baby. And I said, I gotta go. And I didn't even shut down the call, I just left.
SPEAKER_01So the call's still going on, your chair is in the view. Oh, yeah. And I just disappeared. And they're like, I don't know where you at.
SPEAKER_00I just disappear. So our legal counsel was on the call. So I get up, get out of the camera, and I get on the phone with my responding deputy chief. Because at that time it was so relatively new, not everybody had the camera. So I got on the phone with him and said, Hey, this is confirmed. And he said, Really? I said, Yeah, it's confirmed. Go over the air and let everybody know that this is real. Well, what had happened looking back, coincidence or not, I don't know. But the engine company and the ambulance for that house responded to an EMS call and eight minutes later the baby was surrendered. So the engine house from down the street was the one that responded, and the ambulance from the other direction responded. Coincidence? I don't think so. Because here's why. I the the following day at the exact time I timed from different parts different areas where you could see the engine house, and I timed how long it would take for me to go from different areas in the parking lot to hit the light to get to that engine house, and it was roughly seven minutes from any place that you could see that engine house door. So what I think is probable is that they were
The First Baby Alert Goes Off
SPEAKER_00watching, waiting for the for the engine company to go out, yeah, and then surrender the baby.
SPEAKER_01And so, okay, so let's go back to the surrendered baby. So there was no one in this house at this time. No. Okay, and so that's that's one of the things that we get asked all the time is well, what if nobody's there? Is the baby gonna sit in there forever? And it's so important for us to kind of relay the truth that there's so many alarms on these boxes that you're notified, you're going back to the station. You're not, this baby's not gonna be in there for hours. This baby is gonna be in there for minutes. You guys are gonna respond. And so you call your your chief or your battalion chief and you say, Hey, there this is true. This is true. We need we need somebody to head back to the fire station. They're probably already getting the call. It's already in route. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It was four minutes. Yeah, and so from time of surrender to the time of first patient contact was four minutes.
SPEAKER_01Four minutes. And that's that's pretty typical if they're out of the station.
SPEAKER_00So, okay, so But if you talk about the redundancy, you have the you have the internal alarm inside.
SPEAKER_01Yep, which they couldn't hear because they weren't there, which is fine.
SPEAKER_00But then we have the monitoring, we have the monitoring center.
SPEAKER_01Because the box calls 911, which is what you're referring to.
SPEAKER_00Correct. And we have the dispatch center, and then we have the internal camera.
SPEAKER_01And the internal camera, though, it's it's interesting to see or to say, because that camera, when when there's movement in that box, you get a notification on your phone. And so that is another redundant alarm.
SPEAKER_00I set up I set up the system with the alarm company in this way. I get a text message when the outer door opens, I get a text message when an object is detected. So now I have the inner alarm, I have the automatic alarm that goes to the monitoring center, I have the outer door alarm, I have the object detected alarm, and I have the internal camera. That's how that's how redundant we are built.
SPEAKER_01Well, and that's that is in case one fails. You have multiple ones picking up, which is which is what the fire service does. We always have a backup plan.
SPEAKER_00Oh, we have to.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Have to. It in our business, we can't miss.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Right. There is no call to call the game on a counter rain.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right? It doesn't our responsibility is to the community. Rain, snow, sleet, or shine, doesn't matter. And when something like this, I mean, what what a responsibility. Right. And, you know, I made it very clear to my to to my people. And um, and I will say we have done an incredible job. The guys have taken this so seriously. And I I just can't say enough about how proud I am of the fact that they know, well, they know that this is quote unquote my baby. They're like, okay, because I made it clear. I'm like, let's just be clear. We're firemen, right? I get it. We do we do what we do in these engine houses, but don't mess with this one.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00Right? We we don't mess with this.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00And they've done a great job.
SPEAKER_01They really have. They really have. I've been to your fire station quite a few times, and and they do. They do a great job. Yep. Okay, so let's go back to the call. So you're on you're looking at this, this, this phone, the this camera inside your box, and and you see this baby moving in the box. Oh, I can hear her. You're literally pooping yourself.
SPEAKER_00I can hear her.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I I'm happy to say that I I guess I I'm the first, I was the first contact she ever had with emergency services because I was talking to her through the app. Right. And she was screaming her head off, which I'm like, this is great. Just rattle. That's a great signal. That's a great sign. Rattle the inside of that cage, sweetie. Just let her rip. You know, and she did. Yeah. And she did. And I watched in real time as you know, I could see on my screen, okay, they're on the scene. And then I just I could see it, you know, from the inside.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it was uh it was great.
SPEAKER_01So then you call Monica Kelsey.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. Yeah. Then I call Monica Kelsey. I think I stuttered. I I don't I don't. Yeah, I I lost it at that point.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. So you kept saying there is a baby in our box. There's a baby. There is a baby. Monica, you don't understand.
SPEAKER_00There's a baby.
SPEAKER_01There's a baby in our box. And what was my words to you?
SPEAKER_00You're like, well, you need to probably be dealing with the baby.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, take the baby out of the box.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, no, no, I'm not no, the guys are there. Like, I'm just watching, right? Yeah, it was, it was true. I mean, it just for me, I think it was just a huge, was just a huge dump, right, of of emotion about like, because this was hard. Yeah, this just getting this across the finish line was not easy. I mean, it was there was I don't really care about pushback because when it just it is what it is. But I mean it was hard.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot of negative people about the baby boxes that don't truly understand the program.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And I took a position very early on that uh, you know, you can you can be that way, but I'm not going to be. Like you're not going to get in my way over this. So if you want to make it into something that it's not, that's on you. Right. But I'm not. Well, yeah, but what about no no, you know? I mean, I had people come to the engine house. I had people sending me emails, I had people calling me, and and I would just say, that's an interesting perspective. However, I don't share it. And I'm not too terribly interested in your position. I I'm not doing that. Well, yeah, but no.
SPEAKER_01What do you think they're saying today?
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So for me it was, you know, and then dealing with being the first one in the state of Missouri and not knowing, you know, uh how it was gonna work, and you you're getting the, you know, you're you're getting shots taken at you, and they're saying stuff on social media and you know, all of that. And then, you know, you go through the process of installing the box and testing the box, and you gotta remember this is new for the state, too. Right. So the state is like, what are we doing?
SPEAKER_01Which they came out with, not to interrupt you, but they came out with a lot of regulations against us. Not against us. I don't want to say that. That's probably the wrong way to say it. But they they put some strict protocols on us, which means we have to put strict protocol protocols on you, which there's only two states in this country that have done that. Missouri was one of them. And so there are different kinds of regulations that we have to abide by in the state of Missouri, right? Which makes it a little bit more difficult.
SPEAKER_00It does. It does. But we got through it. Yeah. So when it actually happened, it was just like this emotional release of it was all worth it.
SPEAKER_01Like it was And you know, this is a good call. You know, when you you get 20,000 calls a year, you know, you stated, those aren't good calls normally. I mean, you might deliver a few babies here and there. That's a good call. But most of them, you're there on their worst day. This is the best day. Like this mother trusted you. This mother came to you knowing that you were going to take care of her baby. Right. You know, and that is a that that is just something that we don't take lightly. And and firefighters don't, and I'm sure you don't either.
SPEAKER_00No, you know, and but for So it's an incredible privilege.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it truly is. And and I think, you know, when you get a baby, because we've had a baby here in Woodburn, you know, and and it truly is a oh my gosh, like she trusted me enough to bring this baby to me.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Knowing that I was gonna drop everything, get off the call with the lawyers, you know, not no being speculative now, but but you know, she knew that you guys were going to do everything possible to make sure that her baby was safe.
SPEAKER_00And and that is a privilege that is not it is it is, you know, the the nice thing also is is that I I have been able to connect with her.
SPEAKER_01Not mom.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, no, no, not mom, baby. Just want to clear that up. Right, yeah, yeah. So which which is nice.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, to see it from where we started to now the the life that she's going to have. You know, there's the the one piece for me that I think, and this is probably my girl dad coming out in me, is that I I think about the moms and I think about, you know, I just hope they're okay. Like I hope they're okay physically, I hope they're okay emotionally. I hope they know how loved the baby was from the minute we came in contact with her to where she is now. You know, I I think about that.
SPEAKER_01Did they bring her back to the fire station? They did. They did.
SPEAKER_00They did.
SPEAKER_01So what was the uh I I gotta ask, what was the guy's response to that? And were the guys there that were responding on that call?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So what what was what was it like for them to see this little girl that so you know how firemen are typically very outgoing because they have to be and kind of load and rough and rough around the edges? Have you ever seen a cat walk into a new room? They kind of creep around like, what is that over there? And you know, you're like, fellas, or what look, right? Right, because it's just I mean, it's a big thing, and when it's there, you it's it it's a lot. You know, we're used to seeing things that not a lot of people like to see or want to see. So when you see like this this fabulous ending, you really kind of stop in your tracks and go, like, is this really happening? You know, like she was in our box and now there she is, right? With her family, with her family, yeah. Right. I mean, we went to I went to her first birthday party. I went to her, I believe, her second birthday party.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that's just amazing. But you know, that for for her growing up, knowing that you guys love and I say this with the most respect for adoptive parents. Absolutely, but you loved her first. Oh, you know, you were there first, as you said, you were the first person she came in contact with. Right. And so that does not go unnoticed, also the more she grows up, because she's gonna know that you're a part of her story. Sure. You know, and and and it the positives that are coming out of this is just huge for her
Redundant Alarms That Cannot Fail
SPEAKER_01to have all of these these proud papas, yeah, you know, these these guys that are wealthy.
SPEAKER_00I'm so proud of the guys, like I said before, because they take it so seriously. Yeah, I mean, there is never a question about did you fill out that logbook? Is that is that box clean? You know, I mean, I can see it. It's like, oh, Mike's on today. How do you know Mike's on today? Well, because he's cleaning the bassinet. Mike was on last week, he cleaned the bassinet then. I mean, you know, it's just like they know that this is big.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I and to be able to sustain it over time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right? Like this isn't a flash in the pan type of thing.
SPEAKER_01I mean, so what did we install in 23? 2022.
SPEAKER_002022. We we opened in August. Was it August of 21 and Surrender February of 22? No, it was August of 23, Surrender February of 2021. 24.
SPEAKER_01Yep, and then 25 again.
SPEAKER_00Correct.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay, so now your guys are like, oh my gosh, this thing actually works. Yes. Like, like, holy smokes, we've had a baby. Now what do we do?
SPEAKER_00And so well, and okay, it can happen. It's it it it happened. First it was it could happen. Then it was it happened, and now they're like, when's it gonna happen again?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like we have to be ready. Yep, right? Totally different mental mindset.
SPEAKER_01Do you think that they were prepared the first time because of the training, or do you think that they weren't prepared, even though they went through the training, they just didn't realize what to expect? Because you know, we can go through training all day long, but at the end of the day, when you're on scene, things don't go the same as what you you train for.
SPEAKER_00I think I think that we all struggle sometimes with uncertainty. So you have something that you know that the chief is saying, This is big, this is important, this is this is a really important thing for our community. And when you stress that, they're like, Okay, we can't miss. Because I that's what I keep saying, can't miss.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_00Can't miss.
SPEAKER_01Has to work a hundred percent, a hundred percent of the time. Exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So then there's that little bit of anxiety, a little bit of uncertainty. What's it gonna be like? How's it gonna go? What am I gonna do? And then it happens, boom. But now you have the experience of the people that did it.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00So now those captains are talking. They're like, okay, so how did this go? How did that go? My deputy chiefs, we we created a uh flow chart about okay, now we have the baby. Okay, now we're going to the hospital. What information do we need to give? What information do we need to get? What do I need to do? Who do I need to call? What's my responsibility? So we created a checklist of the things because we have three different crews. Right, right. I have six EMS battalion chiefs, three, I'm sorry, I have six EMS deputy chiefs, three fire deputy chiefs.
SPEAKER_01At this location.
SPEAKER_00No, no, at the at the department. That can any time all convert. On that one spot. So I don't know which deputy chief is going to accompany the baby, right? So that was another thing. Okay, a deputy chief must accompany a surrendered baby to the hospital. And then they have the checklist.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00These are the things you need to bring back to me. Because in turn, these are the things that I need to turn over to Monica Kelsey. These are the things that the state is going to ask for, contact information, all just a wide variety of different stuff. So now we have that flow chart in the deputy chief's car to where in the event that happens, now we know what to do. The captains have shared their experiences about okay, this is what you do, this is how you this is what you expect. You know, so we have that because you know we had the first baby surrendered that which gave us that experience.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then baby number two came.
SPEAKER_00And then baby number two came.
SPEAKER_01And baby number two has been a blessing for the department itself, because you guys uh, you know, get to see this baby a lot. But so when it happened again, so let's start from that day when baby was placed in the box. It happened again. And I think when when we were talking originally, and this was back, you know, when we first passed in Missouri, we were getting a lot of babies at night, you know, in the middle of the night. And so we kind of trained on that. Hey, you're probably gonna see between 6P and 6A. That's not true anymore. No, it's not true anymore. No, we we get the same amount of babies at night as the same amount of babies during the day. And so you've had two babies in your box, both of them during the day.
SPEAKER_00Both of them during the day.
SPEAKER_01And so, okay, so the second, the second baby comes. What tell us about the fire station? Who was there?
SPEAKER_00And so same, same fire station, same crew, different crew, different crew, same shift, different crew. Okay, okay. This one was completely different. So it happened in August. Yes, yeah, August 10th, I believe. So it's hot, and the way that the station sits, it faces towards the afternoon sun. So they had just the ambulance had just returned from a call and they were sitting in their in their truck. What they do is they lift the door a little bit because we have glass doors. So the way that the light comes through, it shines directly on the cab where they're doing their report, right? So they just raise the door a little bit. So the window is so the sun isn't coming through the window. And they said that they were just sitting there and they saw feet just walk by the door. That was it. And then they're sitting in the truck, and boom, alarm. My phone goes off. They're in the station now. They're looking at each other like what what just happened? Right?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And then you see the feet go the other way, and that was it. And then I hit the button again, and there she is.
SPEAKER_01There she is. So was it better the second time? I mean, like what the guys understood it better? Did it kind of flow a little bit better?
SPEAKER_00It went uh seamless to the point where first off, we're we're so lucky because both babies were just perfectly healthy. Just screaming like crazy. But it got to a point where so once again, I'm on the phone with the deputy. Like, this is real. Now, by this time, I will say I have given the video privileges to a lot of other people.
SPEAKER_01So they can see it too.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Because then I'm thinking to myself, okay, well, you know, everybody needs to see it. So, but I still followed up with a phone call. Hey, it's happening. Same deputy chief. So he's like, Yep, on it. So he goes. Here's the difference between baby one and baby two. Baby one was it happened. Oh my gosh, it happened. Baby two was a celebration. Like to the point where it's it's like, okay, guys, we need to go. You know, you have to understand we run critical care paramedics and critical care RNs. Our standard of care is very, very high. Yes. We do amazing things, and we have amazing practitioners. I mean amazing. So for them, a newborn baby is like, this is this is great. Like we can stay here for a couple hours if you want. I mean, I'm totally, I mean, they're they are, they're passing the baby around, and I'm like, you know, and Adam, you know, my my deputy is like, wrap it up, we gotta go. We gotta go. We gotta go, right? But you know, it's a standard, I mean, it it's it's a standard newborn, right? A healthy one, right? And and and she was. So they did everything that they were supposed to do, and it was a fight over who got to to detect the call and who got to sit in the back. Yeah, and everybody wanted to go. And so that's that was the difference. This one was
The Aftermath And Thinking Of Mom
SPEAKER_00a celebration, where the first one was, oh boy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what do we do?
SPEAKER_00Let's remember what we're supposed to do. Exactly. This one was more of a celebration. Yeah, it really was.
SPEAKER_01So you get the baby in the back of the ambulance, head to the hospital. Same process, same process, same process. So nothing changed.
SPEAKER_00Nothing changed, nothing changed. Except we had our checklist, we knew exactly what to do. My deputy chief, same deputy chief that did the first surrender, was just very assertive with the staff. Like, hey, I've done this before. I know you haven't. It's okay. Here's what you need to do. This is what I'm going to need from you. You're going to need to contact social services. I'm going to need to talk to them prior to me leaving. I'm going to need to get this information. Here's the contact number for the fire chief. All that information that nobody really knew what you needed, right? After the first baby was surrendered, they're calling the main number looking for me because my deputy didn't know to give them my contact information. Like they're going to have questions.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_00Somebody's going to have questions. So we had that all in the checklist. And now they know. So Adam was able to go in, take charge, say, okay, this isn't our first time. These are the things you need to do. These are the things I'm going to do. And it went perfectly.
SPEAKER_01But then somebody on your department gets a call.
SPEAKER_00Correct.
SPEAKER_01So one thing that we get all the time when we go into fire stations is what happens to these babies after they're surrendered. And the babies almost every state, not every state, but most states, the babies go into the Department of Child Services custody, and then they find a foster parent that wants to adopt a child. Yes. You know, so it's kind of the foster to adopt program. Most fire fighters and their wives or their significant others are always asking, How do we get on that list? You know. And so we always say the same thing. Contact child services, you have to be a foster parent.
SPEAKER_00Correct.
SPEAKER_01And so somebody on your department was a foster parent.
SPEAKER_00Yes. So I had a relationship, of course, with my critical care paramedic, just a wonderful human being. And I knew he was a foster parent. And when the first baby was surrendered, he approached me and was like, you know, I'm a foster parent. And I would love to, you know, of course, I I I desperately want to have a family and, you know, just has a wonderful family, and he's a just a beautiful human being. And so I didn't I didn't think much of it because I figured that there was a system in place, right?
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00So we go through, so my phone rings, and it's it's him. And I don't know if I can use his name. I'm gonna choose not to be a little bit more.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, let's not. Let's not.
SPEAKER_00Right. So uh my phone rings and and it's it he's calling because he heard, you know, in 10 minutes telephone, telegraph, telefireman, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, I mean yeah, yeah, everything runs faster at a fire station, even at Gosling.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. So I got the call and he said, Hey, I just want you to know that I'm, you know, I I I would love to to to have her. And I said, understand. So I reached now. This is in relatively real time. Like the baby's at the hospital. My deputy's still there. So I reached out to my deputy chief and I said, Hey, have you made all the contacts? Dotted the I's crosses the T's. And he said, Yeah. I said, Who's who do you have in social services? And he's like, I'm actually standing right here with her. And I said, Can I can I talk to her? So she comes on, we do what we do, and I just I just said I I have one of my critical care paramedics as a foster parent, has been for many years. And if that just so you know, like I didn't know the system, I wasn't trying to do anything.
SPEAKER_01I just thought, I mean, I'll just somebody ask you to do something and you did it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was just like, hey, I've got that, you know, I have someone that is a certified foster parent that checks the boxes, and if that is something that it is information that that you can do something with, great, right?
SPEAKER_01Because well, and if not, you can go back to this person and say, hey, I did make that call and it's up to them.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. I do not know what happened from there. I don't. All I know is like three hours later, I get a photograph with my guy with the baby, and I'm like on the floor. I'm like, it gives me goosebumps just now. Like I am, I'm like, I can't, I can't believe this. Like, here we go again. You want to talk about another emotional dump? It's just like you know, and now this one is like really close to home, right? Like this guy works for me, you know. I know him, I know her, right? And it's like I will know her forever.
SPEAKER_01She will be a part of the fire service.
SPEAKER_00Oh, no question forever. She will be with us. So even when I'm gone, even when the sun sets on my career, she'll still be there.
SPEAKER_01You know, and I mean, how wouldn't it be awesome if one day she takes her job?
SPEAKER_00That would be epic. Would that much I would strongly encourage her not to do it? I really would.
SPEAKER_01I'd be like, you know, but wouldn't that be a full circle moment? It would be.
SPEAKER_00It would be a full circle moment as if she just got into the business in any way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it really would.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but it was just like, you know, after a while you look back and you start to think to yourself, okay, there's a reason behind all this, right? Like there's something bigger at play here. Because we went through all of this and look at what's happening, right? Maybe one still have you know contact with the baby, and uh and now baby, I mean, it's like you have to start thinking to yourself, like it's can it get any better? Right? Like I keep thinking to myself, you know, I mean, if there was more places I could put boxes, uh I I would, but I can assure you that uh that as long as I'm in the position that I'm in, any renovation we do will have a box.
SPEAKER_01Well, and you know, you get to for for two times, you got to experience what we experience when we get those calls. Oh, yeah. You know, it's like you're right, it's an emotional dump because one, you've saved the life of a child, but then on the other hand, you got a mother that's having the worst day of her life, and so you can't you can't disregard either of those. And and you're right, it is an honor that these parents trusted you, you know, and and trusted us in our box. And right.
SPEAKER_00I just always go back to the same to the same thing. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to close this loop is the moms, you know, the moms. Like, you know, I I I think about my girls and I think about what this must have been like, and and I just feel like they they they how do they feel? Right. I'm just I just want to find them, right? And just be like, are you okay?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00Like I tell me what I can do for you because you are a hero. Like you should be
Baby Two And A Stationwide Celebration
SPEAKER_00celebrated for having the courage to do what you do. And and you don't get that opportunity, but you know that they're out there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right. And it's just I sometimes I drive up and down the, you know, i in the fire district and I wonder. It's like, I wonder if she's around. And I it's just I don't know why it pops into my head, but but it does.
SPEAKER_01Well, and we've learned over the years because we do press conferences after every baby, and that's important because these mothers are watching. Yeah. You know, we've been contacted by by many women that have surrendered in our boxes and they all say the same thing. I could not get the social media pages off my view. I I had to watch what you guys were saying. And the one thing that they always want to know is is my baby safe and is my baby healthy? Those are the two questions that they always ask. But you're right, you know, it it is, you know, we want to help these moms as much as we can, but we also have to respect that they don't want us to. Sure. Some of them, anyways. Right. And so that's that's kind of hard for us who are in fire service that are always givers. We're always helping, we're always trying to fix the problem. Right. Um, and and these women, some to some of them just don't want fixed. Yeah, you know, and uh, and that's hard. That really is. It's hard for us too, because we are, you know, we are such a driven organization that is fighting for baby, but also fighting for mom. Right. You know, exactly. But then we've also had, you know, some of these mothers that have come back to us and allowed us to walk with them, allowed us to love on them, allowed us to hear their stories. And you're right, they are. They're heroes. They're this most selfless act a woman could do is to basically say, I want what's best for my child, and it's not me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and that's just heroic, you know. Absolutely. So, baby number two. So, baby is now with uh one of the guys that is on Melville Fire Department.
SPEAKER_02Correct.
SPEAKER_01Um, but things have not been smooth. Um and this is, I think, one of the things that we talk about all the time, about the process, you know, through America of how some of these counties, some of these towns don't really talk to each other. One, and two, they always put the baby last. You know, you know, the Department of Child Services always covers their butt first, the parents' butt second, and the baby's butt third. When we think it should be the other way around, covering, you know, making sure baby's good and and being processed correctly, and then taking care of the parents, and then taking care of DCS.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01In this case, this baby has kind of been on the back burner. Not not the fact that she's not loved and in an amazing home, but the adoption has not gone the way it has not gone as smoothly as it should. Yeah. And so let's talk about that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. So of course we did we were not involved and did not know about how the process for baby one went. Not something that when I was blessed to meet baby one, that I was going to take the time, the limited time that I knew we were going to have to talk about the process, right? We just wanted to enjoy the moment and and reflect on what we've gone through. Baby two is a different story because I see dad all the time. And I'm, you know, very kind of involved in it.
SPEAKER_01And involved meaning with support for him.
SPEAKER_00Yes, supporting him. Hey, I have a hearing, but I'm working that day. Well, you're not working that day. Yeah. Right? Just go. Just go. Right. Well, I've got a phone conference and I have to be available, that sort of stuff, right? Yep. Of course. You're you're doing all those things. So we realize real quick that departments aren't talking to one another, right? There, there was a three or four-week period of time where we couldn't get a birth certificate issued. I mean, the baby's three, four months old and we don't have a birth certificate. Well, adoption can't move forward without a birth certificate. So you've got Bureau of Vital Records saying it's not our end of things. We've got the hospital saying it's not our end of things.
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, who who resolves that? Yeah, whose job is it?
SPEAKER_00Right, never been done. So now here you are. Who resolves that? Well, everybody's just kind of looking around. So then you have to start making phone calls and you have to start applying pressure. Like, come on.
SPEAKER_01So, well, and so now you're kind of stepping out of the fire chief role as the the person who has a baby box at their fire station and stepping into a role of friend and co-worker with somebody that's having a friend co-worker and advocate. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00At this point, because it's like, no, we're we we've come this far. We're not stopping. Right. Like, okay, you can put up as many landmines or roadblocks as you want. We're gonna get around all of them, right? And I have to give I have to give credit to to Jim Murphy, to representative Jim Murphy, because you know, I would do what I could do, and then I would just call him, you know, in the in a press conference that I did, and it's absolute truth. In a press conference that I did, I said Jim Murphy will happily tap dance on anybody's desk when it comes to this process. Um and I know his wife, Mary Ellen, shares the same passion.
SPEAKER_01And I know that great supporters of ours.
SPEAKER_00And I know that she uh is gonna do great things in the future. And I'd have to call him. And I'm like, you know, Jim, I I've done everything that I can do. Okay, let me get on. Jim starts making phone calls. I'm making phone calls. Okay, we go, we get over the hurdle of birth certificate. Okay, great.
SPEAKER_01We think, okay, so okay, so let me go back because people are gonna wonder whose job was it?
SPEAKER_00Bureau of Vital Records.
SPEAKER_01So then they're the ones that were saying, no, it's a hospital. And the hospital's like, no, it's vital records.
SPEAKER_00Exactly, back and forth. So then we move forward with there's a child care subsidy process that you have to go through. And that's what does that mean?
SPEAKER_01So, what does subsidy process mean? What what are they trying to accomplish there?
SPEAKER_00They're trying to basically the adoption, the the legal aspect of the adoption is covered by through a subsidy. Okay, right, through the state.
SPEAKER_01So basically the state is paying for the adoption to go through because he's adopting this child through foster care, right?
SPEAKER_00So then it gets stuck in the sub in the department of subsidy or whatever their role was. And it just I mean it was rejected 13 times.
SPEAKER_0113 times it was rejected. Yes, you gotta be kidding me. So okay, so so gim just give me just give me one of the reasons that it
Foster Placement And Adoption Roadblocks
SPEAKER_01was rejected. So it's just the most ridiculous.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so improper formatting.
SPEAKER_01Improper format.
SPEAKER_00Improper formatting uh of a field. You know, they're instead of having an you were supposed to have put it down as zero, eight, you put it down as eight, rejected, like a birth date.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so the month of August, instead of putting zero eight, they put eight, rejected.
SPEAKER_00Right. Little things like that.
SPEAKER_01Who's doing this? Who's who's filling this out?
SPEAKER_00Adoption attorney.
SPEAKER_01So the adoption attorney can't even fill out his own paperwork.
SPEAKER_00Or or it's being kicked back and we don't know why, right? The disconnect is all you get is denied. Improper formatting. But then there's no follow-up. Then there's no, okay, who do I call?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like what do we got to change?
SPEAKER_00Right. Now you have the caseworker who's now calling Jeff City to try to find out who's the person that's rejecting it. It's just ludicrous. There's just there, it doesn't need to be this hard.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00You know, and and my goal in the future, you know, is to work with the state legislature. We have to figure out a way to streamline this process. Because can you can you I've I've seen I've had a front row seat to the emotional roller coaster that that my my critical care paramedic is going through and what his family's going through. Right. And this has been going on now for a year. And this baby's still not adopted. Correct.
SPEAKER_01So the baby's l basically hanging in the balance at this point from politics or just yeah.
SPEAKER_00There has to be a better way. Now we we've accomplished so much already. We have boxes. Okay, we we have what we have in the state legislature. We're we're happy with that, right? We'll we'll work with that.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_00But now we have to focus on step two, three, four. We have to make this seamless. So now you have a situation where wait a second, the baby was the baby was surrendered at the Melville Fire Protection District, which sits in St. Louis County. The children's hospital that the baby was transported to is in the city of St. Louis. The foster parent is in a completely different county. So now you have to get three counties to talk to each other. Three counties to talk to each other. And so I I I honestly believe we're there. I think we're finally there.
SPEAKER_01With the adoption.
SPEAKER_00Yes. It will now from my last conversation, which was a very great conversation with with my critical care paramedic, is that now it's a matter of getting it transferred to a different jurisdiction and it's done. Everything else is done. Like those are his words, not mine.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00It's gonna get done. But it just broke my heart to watch him and his family have to go through this over what? I mean, I'd love to know what it is. Is it politics? Is who's mad at who? Like, let's get into a room, let's fight it out, and let's come up with a streamlined way that we can make this process easier and better. Like all parties can come together. Let's, what's your perspective? What's your perspective? I'll herd those cats all day long.
SPEAKER_01I believe that everything happens for a reason. And I think that what is happening right now at Melville Fire Department with this little girl is exactly what needs to happen to change the process of how babies are adopted. I really believe that. Now, in I think it was Nebraska, we had an attorney call us. And this attorney works for herself. She doesn't, she doesn't work for anybody else. She's an adoption attorney. She actually said something to me that literally just, I could not get it out of my mind because it makes so much sense. She said, What's happening in states? Because we were talking about this same thing. This is actually happening, happening all over America. State states are screwing up adoptions. It's taking forever. One of them took 24 months for one of our babies. And so, and it's just, you know, basically them not talking to the other people. She, this is what she suggested. Now, of course, she's an attorney and she's an adoption attorney. So she probably has a little bit of skin in the game for this, but it makes sense. She said every state needs to have one adoption attorney for the entire state for only safe haven babies. They need to be the most, the most educated on safe haven, the actual law, because attorneys that they have specialties, but the there's there's not very many attorneys that know front to back the safe haven law. Right. And so this one attorney would handle all adoptions, make basically make sure that everything goes from point A to point A. Point B seamlessly instead of having different attorneys in different counties doing whatever it is for that specific county or for that specific baby. In the meantime, you have one person you're dealing with. Right. One person that gets the birth certificate that makes sure that this place is doing what they're supposed to be doing. And so for the adoptive parents, that would be critical because then they're not chasing tails.
SPEAKER_00They're not trying to single point of contact, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Right. But that that one attorney, that's all their job is.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01Is to finalize adoptions of safe haven babies as quickly, as streamlined as they possibly can. And I think it would work because now there are more safe haven babies happening across America than ever before. Right. They're there, I mean, Indiana alone in nine years had 31. Right. That would keep an attorney busy, you know? No question. Or actually 33. We've had 33 in Indiana. But that would keep an attorney busy, at least one. Right. Um, and then the state, all the state would have to do was just, you know, the legislator would have to make a role for that attorney, give money to that department that you put this attorney in, you know, make a new department for it, and and fund it through the state, but on the back end, everything goes through that one attorney. So the more they do, the more they're knowledgeable, the more they know how it works. And so instead of having attorneys that don't know that have never had a safe surrender before, which we see all over all over the place, they're like, I don't even know how this works.
SPEAKER_00Right. I think we're in a unique position because as you remember, when you were uh when you came to the blessing of our first box, the lieutenant governor came to the blessing.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Who's now the governor?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So, you know, we're hoping he was at, I think he was at the second, at one of the other blessings, too, that Mariah went to. Yeah, it was it, it was either what Eureka O'Fallon, Florescent, one of those. Some yeah, I don't remember. Yeah. So, you know, we're of course, you know, anybody that's that's proposing legislation always thinks like, well, this is a no-brainer, right? Like this is common sense, but that's not how Jeff City works. There's not a whole lot of common sense in Jeff City sometimes. Right. But you know, I mean, that's certainly it's something that I would love to to spearhead be a part of. Uh, because it's just the right thing to do. I can assure you that uh, you know, there was a third baby surrendered, I believe it was in O'Fallon, Missouri. And I wonder, I I I was thinking to myself, I wonder how that's going. Right. I wonder how those adoptive parents, how they're walking that path, what their what their journey's been like.
SPEAKER_01So we do have contact with them. Oh, we do have contact with them. That was a little bit of a different situation. Uh that was one, that was a situation for us that we have never done before, you know, from our hotline standpoint. And I'll tell you what, our counselor went above and beyond to save the life of this child.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's great.
SPEAKER_01And uh, but yes, we do have contact with uh the adoptive family that I was gonna ask. I'm gonna ask now that you know we're kind of bringing that up.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna ask what they're yeah, because that would that would close that would complete this would
Fixing The System And Capping Fees
SPEAKER_00completely close the loop. If we can get the adoption process for safe haven babies streamlined, it closes the loop. We have it all.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then we have to get that done. Yeah, I feel like we have to get it done.
SPEAKER_01I I agree with you. I think I think something needs to happen. Yeah. Something needs to happen.
SPEAKER_00So it's my intention to start that process. The legislative session, of course, starts, you know, end of the year. So I'm gonna start doing what I can do to at least draw attention to it and start the process of seeing uh, you know, what we can what we can try to accomplish.
SPEAKER_01You know, some states too, not to kind of pee on your parade, but but some states are moving to adoption agencies taking control of these infants. And I don't support that, and I'll tell you why. Adoption agencies, they do amazing work working with these moms, but the amount of money that the adoptive parents pay for some of these babies across America is ridiculous. We had uh one of our babies, uh, Indiana, we actually passed a law allowing for babies to be placed with adoption agencies or with the Department of Child Services. And so one of the babies that was surrendered, we placed with uh one of the adoption agencies. I got to meet the family then, of course, you know, I loving on this baby a little bit, and I asked the question, you know, what did you pay this adoption agency? And they had paid close to $50,000 for a baby that we handed them. And so any state that wants to allow adoption agencies to take control of safe haven babies, they need to put a cap on the amount of money that an adoption agency can charge a family.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01You know, it just it just doesn't sit well with me when we're paying that kind of money. But then you have a foster parent, kind of like your paramedic that uh that does it because he wants to do it, right, you know, and probably as a paramedic doesn't make sixty thousand dollars, you know, extra money to pay for an infant or fifty thousand or whatever. And so so if you get you know, if you get to the point where you think that Missouri or the legislators start saying, let's bring in the adoption agencies, really push for a cap. Yeah, it needs to be, and I would say a ten thousand dollar cap. Yeah, because you have a homestead, you have an attorney for, you know, the the infant, obviously, and then attorney for the adoptive family. Right. That's um 10 grand, sure, you know.
SPEAKER_00Sure. But well, something tells me that I won't be walking this path alone.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. I I've never backed down from a fight. You know this. And I love I love the fact that we see a problem and we're going to fix it. Sure. You know, you're the perfect person to spearhead this because you spearheaded the baby boxes in Missouri. Now looking at this, this baby was placed with this paramedic for a reason to open your eyes. And now here we are, we're looking at this from a lens that most people haven't seen. Right. And uh I have no doubt that you're gonna fix it.
SPEAKER_00Well, and we have the ability, knowing the process like I do, we have the ability to speak from real experience. This is not a hypothetical.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00So when this walks the path that it walks, we have the ability to s to win people, and they always do, and I don't think that all of them have uh are trying to be negative or controversial, but you always have the people that are like, okay, what's the other side of the argument? And that's when when you speculate, it's easy for people to be kind of to kind of question it, right? But now we have the ability to say, no, we've done this, right? So the window that I look out of, here's the problem. Oh, we want to know the person that's actually feeling it and actually had the feelings, she's right here. Right? And you wanna now you want to talk to the person that started the whole thing that can tell you what goes on in other states. Oh, she's right over there. Right? And then when you have that, you can make change.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, I'm I'm excited to see what comes next. Yeah. Not only for Melville Fire, but for also the state of Missouri. Yeah. Uh you guys are rocking it over there. I mean, you guys had what, three, three babies last? No, this was that this year. Oh, did O'Fallon happen this year?
SPEAKER_00O'Fallon did.
SPEAKER_01Offallon?
SPEAKER_00I believe so, yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, or three babies total. I don't know. I'm I'm getting these.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I can only imagine how many. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01We've had one location down in Alabama that just had their fourth baby, and and then another Alabama location have their third baby. And I'm like, what is happening in Alabama right now? Like, like these women are trusting us, they are doing exactly what we're asking them to do, which is keep their baby safe. So whatever we're doing in Alabama is working. So it's working. But yeah, you're right. It gets to the point where I'm I can't remember all these states. At 53 years old, it's kind of like, yeah, my mind's just not as sharp as it used to be.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, don't I know? Don't I know?
SPEAKER_01Well, thanks for making the trek all the way over here. I appreciate you coming and and taking time out of your day.
SPEAKER_00And um
Closing Thoughts And How To Help
SPEAKER_00just so happy to be a part of it. I would have walked here. And that would have been a heck, that would have been a heck of a walk.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That would have been a long time. But no, I'd love to keep you posted and uh hopefully come back when uh when we can make some more change.
SPEAKER_01Well, and you know, maybe the next time, maybe you and your critical care paramedic with this beautiful little girl. Yeah, yeah, come back and we'll we'll tell their story.
SPEAKER_00Sure.
SPEAKER_01If they're willing.
SPEAKER_00That sounds great.
SPEAKER_01All right. This is Monica Kelsey from Beyond the Box. You guys heard it here. Chief Hendricks from Melville Fire Department. Gonna make some change in Missouri. You guys better buckle up. God bless you guys. If you guys want to support our ministry, go to SHBB.org and make a donation today. God bless you guys, and we'll see you guys next time.