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An officer with the Mishawaka Police Department in Lake County, Indiana, recently adopted a baby that was surrendered to a baby box shortly after birth.
Officer Bruce Faltynski and his wife, Shelby, had just adopted their 8-year-old daughter Kaia in March when they received another call from the Department of Child Services.
A baby girl had just been found in a Safe Haven Baby Box in Lake County.
“The doctor thought maybe less than 24 hours old when she was initially surrendered in the Safe Haven box in Lake County,” Shelby Faltynski said. “We are so grateful for Myah’s birth mom — she made a really courageous decision.”
Myah was officially adopted by the family on November 18, the day before National Adoption Day.
Safe Haven boxes are temperature-controlled devices that sound an alarm when a baby is inside to alert firefighters. The baby is then removed from the box, checked by medics and sent to the hospital.
The baby box program, named after the Indiana Safe Haven law, gives mothers a place to safely surrender their babies without any legal process.
Under the law, a person can anonymously relinquish their infant if the child is less than 45 days old without fear of arrest or prosecution.
Newborns who surrendered in the boxes are usually adopted in about a month, according to the DCS.
It was a rough start for baby Myah, but she is, fortunately, doing well now.
Neonatal intensive care unit doctors said that it appeared Myah suffered a stroke at some point. Thankfully, her new parents said Myah is meeting all of the development milestones.
The response on social media has been overwhelmingly positive.
Scott Roth, a former colleague of Officer Faltynski, said the children have a great father.
“I worked with Bruce. These children are blessed to have such a father.”
Lake County is located in the north of Indiana on the Michigan border.
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