Deputy Foster Tracy of the Rancho Cordova Sheriff’s Department showed up to what looked like a routine call. A woman sitting between two bushes near a business. Suspicious activity, maybe. Something to check on, nothing more.
He was not prepared for what came next.
The woman told him she was having a baby.
Tracy’s own words capture the moment better than anything else could: “‘Excuse me?'” he remembers saying, as it didn’t quite register. “‘You’re having a baby?'”
It registered quickly. The baby’s head was already out.
What Tracy didn’t know yet, and what would become the most frightening part of the next few minutes, was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck. When he and his partner, who arrived moments later, saw the colour of the infant, Tracy feared the worst.
“I was concerned the baby was deceased because it was purple and blue.”
The woman, it turned out, had been sitting between those bushes asking for help for hours.
There’s a phrase Tracy used in the interviews that followed, and it’s the most honest description of what that morning looked like from the inside.
“It was zero to a hundred really fast. It was one of those calls you go to, run-of-the-mill. This was definitely not something that I was prepared for at any part of the day.”
That line says something important. Tracy didn’t arrive as a trained midwife or an emergency medical specialist. He arrived as a police deputy who thought he was checking on a routine situation. And when routine turned into something else entirely, he got on his knees in a car park in Rancho Cordova, California, and went to work.
His partner got down beside him. Together, they stayed with it.
The baby survived. Both mother and child were taken to hospital and are recovering. The shop owners whose call had unintentionally set everything in motion were left a little stunned by what their report had led to. Tracy and his partner were praised by the mother, by their police chief, and by the community that heard about what happened.
But what stays with you after reading this isn’t the praise, or even the miracle of the outcome. It’s that small, human moment of confusion in the middle of a car park.
Excuse me? You’re having a baby?
And then – without training, without a plan, without any of the things we imagine we’d need in a moment like that, he just showed up for it anyway. Got on his knees and did what needed doing.
That’s the whole story, really. Someone needed help that nobody had prepared for. And the person who happened to be there decided that not being prepared wasn’t a reason to step back.
It never really is.
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Sources: Police Deputy Praised After ‘Run-of-the-Mill’ Call Turns into Emergency Baby Delivery – Good News Network | CBS News Sacramento
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Thank you, Ritish, for a wonderful story of kindness shown to a stranger!
Joanna
Yes Joanna, its this simple act of kindness that keeps the darkness at bay. Thanks for reading, Joanna.
We all need as many stories of kindness and connection as possible. Thank you, Ritish!
Exactly and these stories don't cancel out the hard stuff, they just remind us that the hard stuff isn't the whole picture. Both things exist at the same time, and I think that's worth holding onto. Thanks for reading!
Police officers are trained to deal with the unexpected, but I'm sure they never considered something like this. I hope the baby goes on to do amazing things in life.
I was thinking the exact same thing, Pete. Tracy never signed up to deliver babies in car parks, and yet when it was happening in front of him, the training to handle the unexpected kicked in anyway. And yes, for a baby that's a remarkable start to a life.
Thanks for this wonderful story, Ritish. I always leave here with a little more hope than when I arrived. xo
That might be the nicest thing anyone's said about the Kindness Report, Lauren. Thank you so much!
You’re so welcome, Ritish! ❤️
Ritish, thank you for another kindness report. It helps to know that there are kind and helpful people in this world of violence and corruption.🙏
Yes Cheryl, I think the Kindness Report is just making sure the kindness gets the same airtime. Because it's happening just as often, it just doesn't travel as fast. 🙏
Amazing story of the woman having a baby, Ritish, and it's wonderful that the mother and baby were recovering at the hospital.
And the shop owners too, they made a call about something that looked suspicious and accidentally set off a chain of events that saved two lives.
Yes, Ritish! 😍
THIS story carries a real message. I'M thankful for the good outcome.. LOVE and care even when unexpected shows kindness and human understanding.
That word unexpected is doing a lot of work in this story, isn't it Faye? Thanks for reading Faye
Oh boy you hit a nerve here and thank goodness for this police officer that showed up and offered his heart and hands, Ritish!! Waiting for Blair’s birth when I should be sleeping, I await the call to head over to do just that but o certainly hope we won’t be dealing with an umbilical cord crisis!!! Yikes. 😱! Thank God the hospital was close! Kudos to him. Now I’m going to try to sleep and imagine the birth going smoothly as planned! Lol 😂 ❤️🙌🏽🌈😎
Cindy, I read this and genuinely laughed and then immediately felt a little bad for laughing 🙂 But the timing of you reading this particular story, while waiting for Blair's arrival, is just too perfect. Sending all the calm, smooth, umbilical-cord-is-exactly-where-it-should-be energy your way. You've got this, Blair's got this, and the hospital is right there just in case. Can't wait to hear the news 😂❤️
Wow - that is just amazing!! Love these kindness reports, Ritish!
Yeah stories like these always amaze me. Thanks for reading, Wynne 🙌🏼