Thursday, December 21st 2017, 2:28 pm
The holiday season is much sweeter these days for one Green Country family and a little boy left at an urgent care.
Two years later, the now two-year-old boy is thriving, and his story has changed countless lives.
Life with a toddler is busy. Whether 2-year-old W is on four wheels or two feet, he always keeps his family on their toes.
“He's 2 and he's all boy,” W’s dad Todd said. “He's a miniature Spiderman. Sometimes, if it's quiet, you better go find W because there's a good chance he's hanging on the chandelier or something else.”
His mom and dad don't mind the surprises. W came into their lives quite unexpectedly.
“I said, 'Oh, do you think that's our baby?' He's like, 'oh no,' ya know,” Amy said.
Todd and Amy first found out about W through a story on News On 6 two years ago, when a mother dropped off a baby boy at a Tulsa urgent care two days before Thanksgiving.
11/25/2017 Related Story: ‘Safe Place’ Takes In Tulsa Newborn After Homeless Mother Leaves Him
He was wrapped in a blanket with his umbilical cord still attached. The mother told the nurse she was homeless and wanted her baby in a safe place.
“There's no words for what she did. I think she did the best thing any mom could do,” said Amy.
The biological mom's difficult decision made Amy and Todd parents again. This time to a newborn who didn't have a name.
“His name tag just said "Baby Boy Unknown" and that, like, that just broke my heart,” Todd said.
But that wouldn't last long. He'd soon be W, the newest addition to Todd and Amy's family.
“Oh, he was ours. The moment I saw him, I knew he was ours, yes...definitely,” Amy said.
The day their caseworker called about the baby was the same day they learned they'd been approved as foster parents - something they'd prayed for months would happen.
“The way things came together with timing is, couldn't be called anything but a God thing,” said Todd.
With all the media coverage, everyone wanted W and high-security measures were put in place to protect the newborn.
“It was kind of top secret in a way. They gave us a four-digit code to even be able to go back to him,” Amy said.
In the days that followed, as Todd, Amy and their two older children loved on W in the hospital, thousands of calls poured into caseworkers from people wanting W.
But, since W already had a home, Todd and Amy said several other children needing safe homes were fostered.
“His story's already helped so many that we don't even know,” Todd said.
His story also sent a message of hope to other expectant mothers, who, like his, knew they couldn't care for their baby.
“By his second doctor's visit, the nurses were like, 'Ya know what, we've had three more babies like this come in since this,'” said Todd.
Oklahoma's Safe Haven Law allows birth mothers to leave a newborn at a hospital, fire station or police department without facing prosecution.
DHS doesn't track the babies that come into the system under that law, but it's clear the law gives babies the chance at life they deserve - like W, whose birth mom just wanted him to be safe.
And that’s exactly where he’s been ever since, in a safe, loving place.
“I'm just thankful for her. She gave us a perfect gift,” Amy said. “He's been a very big blessing to our family.”
W is officially Todd and Amy's son. They adopted him almost exactly one year after he was dropped off at the urgent care.
You can follow continue to follow W’s story through Facebook.
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