A real-life Harry Potter! Samuel Tyler was a cutie patootie when he was dropped off by his mother at the fire department. Samuel was surrendered with only a blanket wrapped around him and a note that read “I love you.”He was a meager 3 pounds and needed to spend two weeks in the NICU after being dropped in the Safe Haven drop box.

The Kentucky State Infant Act states that children between the ages of 0 and 30 days can be placed in Safe Haven boxes to be taken care of. These places include hospital emergency rooms, fire and police stations, and participating places of worship. Chris and Brittany Tyler heard about Samuel and hoped he would be placed with them to be his foster parents. According to KJCT News, the Tyler parents had fostered 15 children before Samuel, but “…they immediately knew they wanted him a part of their family forever.” Samuel was adopted into the Tyler family after spending 581 days in foster care. 

The decision to give up a child was admitted by the Tyler’s to be a very difficult one. They express their gratitude and admiration for Samuel’s birth mother for making the hard decision to give him up. Tyler stated to WAVE, “She’s a role model. She’s a hero. That’s something we will let him know about as we talk to him about character as he grows. It’s one of those things that we will say, ‘Hey look, this is what someone did for you. Someone did something very selfless for you.’” This woman’s heroic act of love allowed for another family to become complete.