Today I have a unique story to present you. Not only are the events presented shocking, but there is also a twist near the story's end. The event depicted is a tragedy, but it also speaks volumes about a mother's protective instinct, and the sacrifices we do each day for our loved ones. You might think the mother threw the baby out the window without any reason - but this is not the case. She had to do it in order to save her daughter's life - and I'm happy to say, she succeeded.
It all started out in Wyoming, Illinois, which is a small town with a population of 1,400. It was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone, and there wasn't anything weird going on. No shady people around, and certainly no crime.
Shelby was just 21-years old during the time of the incident. She worked as a beautician and had started studying for her exams to become a pharmacy technician. There was nothing to hint about the upcoming tragedy that will befall her.
Shelby's life improved for the better in January 2017, when her daughter Keana Davis was born. Shelby was still living with her mom, but her fiancé also joined them since their baby girl was born. Her daughter wasn't even 30 days old at the of the incident.
During an interview, the town's major had only good things to say about Shelby. He told reporters, "She was making her mark in town." But then, just a single day after her 21-st birthday, tragedy struck on January 30 and a fire started in their house.
When the fire started, Shelby tried calling 911. When she got ahold of the emergency line, she told them that she was having problems breathing. She didn't mention her daughter yet, which is what confused the firefighters when they arrived at the scene.
Emergency rescuers found Shelby's body on the second floor of the house, but they were too late - she was already dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. This type of air-based poisoning is common near large fires and is deadly to all living things.
Although it was sad that they had to find Shelby dead, the good news came when the firefighters found her 12-days old daughter Keana! You might be wondering how did she rescue her daughter when she couldn't save herself - well, what she did was pretty ingenious.
You might remember from the title of this article, that Shelby threw her daughter out of the window, by strapping her to a car seat? Well, this is what she did at the moment of the fire. It was the only way to get her out of the house in time.
The firefighter's that came to the scene had never seen bravery like this. One of the volunteers told reporters that, "I guess it's the motherly instinct to take care of their young. We're all wondering why she didn't go out after the baby,"
Keana Davis, Shelby's daughter was rushed to the ER after she was found by the emergency crews. There, the doctors determined that she wasn't harmed, and was perfectly healthy. This was excellent news, and soon Keana was released for home treatments.
A few days after the fire, even though the local community was shocked, they stay gathered together to start a fundraising campaign to help Shelby's family, including her mother, to rebuild their house and get live back together.
Everyone wanted to help, so in just the first week, the fundraising campaign had gathered over $40,000. This speaks volumes about the small community in Wyoming, Illinois - they might not be too many of them, but they look after their own.
The saddest part of this story is that Keana Davis will never get the chance to meet her mother. She will have her father and grandmother around, but her mother is only going to be remembered as the hero who sacrificed her life in order to save her little baby.
After the tragedy, there has been an outpouring of warm comments on social media. Shelby's aunt, Kathy Carter, also from Wyoming wrote: "Shelby was so proud of this beautiful baby girl." We can all agree on this one, Kathy.
Another one of Shelby's aunts, Deb Carter Burwell of Wyoming, said: "Shelby was a fantastic mom and proud of her baby girl." I hope Keana gets to read these comments when she grows up, just so she can know what kind of hero her mother was.
