A mother’s decision to give up her newborn just hours after giving birth would change a Tustin family’s life forever.
Noah was surrendered in December 2017 at Fire Station 21 in Tustin. Firefighter Linda Brown facilitated Noah's ‘safe surrender’ as he arrived with his umbilical cord tied with a Christmas ribbon.
Noah's arrival was nothing short of a miracle for Javier and Tim Salazar. They both became certified to foster through Orange County just two months prior and found themselves face-to-face with the baby boy they would soon call their own, just three days after his surrender.
Under California’s Safe Surrender Baby Law, parents can legally and safely surrender their baby at any hospital or fire station within 72 hours of birth, no questions asked. Noah is one of the 1,341 babies surrendered in California since 2001.
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“Noah's just so loving, he's just so super tender,” said Tim.
"I was having a rough day, and he just walked up to me and said, 'You look like you need a hug’” recalled Javier.
Noah's journey to his forever home was challenging during his first year. He struggled with jaundice, difficulty feeding, and exposure to marijuana and methamphetamine.
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“We had to learn how to do certain things…He liked to be held firm. He didn’t like tickle sensations. He had a tough time grasping a bottle so you had to stimulate him a bit,” said Javier.
Despite the challenges, the family has an unbreakable bond and are grateful for the woman who made his life possible. “I just want her to know that she did a very, very selfless thing,” said Javier, “She really kind of did the ultimate mother thing, yet she wasn’t ready to be a mother.”
Six-year-old Noah is now a big brother to his sister Kaia who the Salazar’s adopted in 2018.
Firefighter Brown has also reunited with Noah since their first encounter at the fire station. The couple said Brown will forever be ‘Godmother Linda.’
The Orange County family hopes that the mother, wherever she may be, feels that she made the right decision.
“I’m sure there’s not a day that goes by that she questions if she did or didn’t do the right thing, if she’s out there, somewhere in the universe, something is telling her that he’s okay,” said Javier. “Everything that she could’ve wished for in this kind of scenario, is coming true.”
