What happens to the intuition of a woman when she becomes a mother is incredible. Suddenly, her life isn’t just about herself anymore. The safety of her child comes first, regardless of what happens. This story is a good illustration of the love of a mother — it’s both extremely sad and incredibly heartwarming. Shelby Ann Carter, 21, built an idyllic family life. She and her boyfriend resided in Wyoming, Ill.
Shelby Ann Carter, 21, built an idyllic family life. She and her boyfriend resided in Wyoming, Ill.
The couple welcomed a lovely daughter into the world at the start of January 2017. Shelby was thrilled to be a mother.
On January 30th in 2017, Shelby Carter was home alone with her newborn daughter when their home suddenly caught fire.
It spread rapidly and filled the house with hazardous smoke in just a few seconds — and there was no way to escape. Firefighters went to the fire-filled house, but on the second floor, they made a horrific discovery when the flames were eventually under control.
Shelby Carter had succumbed to the smoke and died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
But in the middle of this tragedy, the firefighters found something that brought tears to their eyes — and it showed them how a mother will do anything for her child.
Even in the most life-threatening circumstances, when she was about to die at any moment, Shelby had the presence of mind to quickly strap her baby into the carseat and drop her from the second-floor window.
With her last breath, she sacrificed her life for her daughter’s.
When the firefighters discovered the little girl named Keana, they took her directly to the hospital worried she was injured. But thanks to Shelby’s actions, her daughter was completely unharmed.
“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.
The death of Shelby Carter was a painful blow to the residents of Wyoming, about three hours southwest of Chicago, a close-knit town of 1,400 people.
After the tragedy, neighbors began spreading the word on the internet to help rebuild the house and provide some financial support to the family members of Shelby.
In just a few shorts weeks they raised almost $40,000.
Shelby Carter’s actions show the power of a mother’s love for her children.
Our prayers are still with Shelby’s family as they mourn the loss of this heroic mother whose final act proved just how great her love was for her baby.
