If there’s one thing that all mothers share it’s that they will do anything to protect and take care of their children. No questions asked. Their love is unconditional.
We can see how selfless mothers are in everyday life, from staying up at all hours of the night to feed and soothe their babies, to making sure that their kids have delicious healthy meals even if that means at the sacrifice of their own food.
Moms will literally do anything for their children, and when faced with a life-or-death situation, a mom’s loyalty has its chance to really shine.
A bittersweet situation
In this case, the outcome was both heartwrenching and heartbreaking.
A young mom
Shelby Ann Carter, a 21-year-old woman from Wyoming, Ill, gave birth to her beautiful baby daughter back in January 2017.
Shelby and her boyfriend were overjoyed to be parents, and the new mom instantly took to parenting as if she’d been doing it her whole life.
From the moment of birth, the baby girl became Shelby’s whole life, and she would do anything to protect her.
A tragic situation
Sadly, a devastating tragedy took place at Shelby’s mom’s house, where she lived with the baby.
It was January 30, not long after baby girl had been born, when a sudden fire ripped through the house.
Danger in their home
The flames spread thick and fast, and the rooms were soon filled with smoke.
There was no way out, and Shelby knew that she needed to act fast.
Mom knew she needed to save her daughter
As the smoke and flames consumed mother and baby, Shelby tried desperately to save her little girl.
Once she realized that there was no way of getting out of the house, the heroic mom quickly strapped her baby into her car seat and, in a sacrifice that only a mother would make, dropped her from the second-floor window.
Shelby was then consumed by smoke and sadly passed away.
Too late for mom
The firefighters were working hard to control the blaze, but sadly it was too late when they got to Shelby.
But one little light shone brightly amongst the darkness. Shelby’s baby girl had survived, and it was all thanks to her mommy’s love and quick thinking.
“The good news is, the baby got home and is doing great,” Stark County Sheriff Steve Sloan told the Peoria Journal Star a day after the fire.
A baby with no mother
Residents of Wyoming were truly heartbroken for the baby girl who had been left without a mother, and they gathered to pay their condolences.
Before long, a fundraiser had been set up and raised almost $40,000 in just a few weeks.
The town rallied around the family and found comfort knowing that her final act was saving a child’s life.
A strong mother
Shelby was hailed as a hero, and her memory will always be kept alive.
Gone but not forgotten
No one will ever forget the sacrifice that Shelby made to save her daughter’s life.
“It’s just incredible that she was able to pull her thoughts together to save her baby… I’d say it’s nothing short of a miracle the way it ended up”, Chief of the Wyoming-Speer Fire Protection District Ed Foglesonger told The Washington Post.
Shelby may have been a young mother but she knew how to care for her daughter until the very end and because of her love, she gave her daughter the gift of life.
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