Firefighter Marc Hadden loved his job. He gets to serve and protect the Myrtle Beach community in South Carolina, where he lives like a real hero. He and other firefighters at the station are beloved and respected in their community for the service they provide.

Of course, their service goes beyond firefighting, from rescuing people in burning buildings to saving cats from trees. They even get medical emergency training to deal with any injuries they may encounter while out on duty. This skill is what Marc Hadden had to use on one fateful call that would change his life from that moment onward.

Another Day In The Life Of A Myrtle Beach Firefighter

For Marc Hadden, November 14, 2011, was just another regular day in the office. A typical shift is usually a straight 24-hour shift, which the firefighters spend at the station. There, they wait for calls while keeping each other company or spend time in the game room.

Hadden thought this would be one of those days. But then, just as he was about to eat lunch, they got a 911 call. It was an emergency, and Hadden had to leave his lunch to get ready for action. He didn’t know that this event would be life-changing for him and his family.

Not Your Standard Fireman’s Mission

You would expect 911 to patch fire or rescue emergencies to the fire department, but this particular emergency had nothing to do with either. Instead, this 911 call was for a woman suffering abdominal pain. Surely this call should have been sent to EMS services.

But contrary to popular belief, roughly 70% of all calls put through the fire departments in the US are due to medical emergencies. This call was also for a critical emergency since the 911 operator reported that the caller’s abdominal pain was escalating with every minute that passes.

Bringing A Firetruck To A Medical Scene

Once on the scene, Hadden knew that the woman’s pained screams weren’t due to bowel obstruction or appendicitis. As a father of two boys, he knew all too well what those screams of agony implied. The woman was having labor pains, and they seemed very advanced.

By their estimation, this woman would give birth in minutes, leaving them no time to get her to a hospital. Luckily, firefighters are equipped with EMT training, meaning that they know how to give CPR, bandage to injury, and even deliver a baby in an emergency!

Working Messy and Fast

Hadden remembers the call being taken very seriously by him and the team. Despite having medical training, this wasn’t something that they faced every day. Hence, none of them had experience with delivering a baby. However, this didn’t stop them from taking action.

They quickly sprang into action following the protocols they were taught. They put the patient on oxygen, put up an IV drip, and were hopeful of getting her into the ambulance before starting the delivery process. Hopefully, they could do so while they were on their way to the hospital. This baby had other ideas, though.

No Time For An Ambulance

There would be no time to get her into the vehicle. One of Hadden’s colleagues pointed out that they were going to have to deliver this babe then and there for the baby and the mother’s sake. These firefighters had to work fast! They did their best to sanitize the area to provide a safe birthing environment with what they had.

Their truck was equipped with everything they needed for the delivery to happen. The one thing these folks didn’t need in this situation was unnecessary complications like preeclampsia, umbilical complications, or any major unnatural tearing.

Thinking Quick, Acting Fast

Through all this, Hadden’s biggest challenge seemed to sit with his colleagues, who appeared panicky while preparing the situation. Noticing their trepidation, he had no choice but to decide that he would take charge of this birthing process to save the unborn child’s life.

Hadden also knew he needed to move fast, so to save time, he used his cloth cutting scissors to cut the woman’s clothes off, making the delivery as straightforward as possible. Once that was done, he asked her to get into position so that he could begin guiding the birthing procedure.

Keep Breathing

After several moments, the crew was in place to deliver the baby. One of the essential things they reminded the mother to keep doing was paint a suitable breathing rhythm. This technique, of course, is standard procedure during the birthing process.

Labor breathing, while no replacement for painkillers, does have a positive effect on the experience. It’s known to have a calming effect while also making the mother anticipate and handle the labor pains better. Once the mother breathed properly, the birth went fairly smoothly. Then, they noticed that the baby wasn’t breathing. Hadden needed to move fast again.

Off To The Hospital

Hadden saw that the baby was struggling with her first breath and quickly gave the baby some oxygen. It took like what seemed like forever, but eventually, the baby started breathing on her own—much to the relief of Hadden and his team.

Paramedics arrived to take the mother and baby to the hospital. While he usually cuts himself off from the people that he rescues once the job is done, this time, Hadden felt obliged to follow up with the mother. So, he went with her to the hospital, where he heard some unfortunate news. The mother struggled financially and doubted her ability to parent the child.

The Heartbreaking Truth

The mother let the nurse know that she wanted to put the baby up for adoption, as she was already struggling to raise her teenage son at the time. Hadden, a father of two boys, was overcome with emotion. He worried whether this mother would find a suitable family for her baby.

Plus, it was playing in the back of his mind that he and his wife were trying to have a baby girl. They were having complications and haven’t had any luck with having a third child, though. What he heard then made him want to call his wife and tell her about his unusual experience.

On The Same Wavelength

Once he left the hospital, Hadden called his wife. The magnitude of his achievement hit him again, and he spoke to her about the whole episode. As his wife named Beth put it, not many people who aren’t doctors get to deliver a baby in their lifetime.

Beth also said that, after he told her about the baby and the mother’s situation, she asked her husband if they could keep the baby. Hadden wasn’t against the idea. In fact, they both decided that it could be a good idea to visit the baby’s mother.

The Timing Was Impeccable

As previously mentioned, Marc and Beth Hadden were parents to two boys. At the time, they also wanted to have another child, ideally a girl. The struggle for them was that both her pregnancies with the boys were complicated, and both were born prematurely.

This occurrence is usually a sign that further pregnancies are going to be just as, if not more complicated. Understandable, they were fearful of trying to get pregnant again and even threw around the idea of adoption. This situation provided them with a perfect opportunity to have a third child. They just needed to confirm the mother’s condition.

Meeting The Mother

Because Marc was working, and Beth didn’t want to miss the opportunity, she decided to make her way to the hospital the day after the birth to meet the mother. She reminded herself that she wasn’t going to expect anything and is only reaching out to help this mother.

As an elementary school instructional coach, Beth knew a thing or two about supporting people with children. She spoke to the woman about everything that happened before a doctor walked in to let the mother know that everything was ready for her to put the child up for adoption.

A Surprising Revelation

According to Beth, when the doctor came and announced the finalization of the adoption process, she thought her opportunity had gone amiss. However, adoption isn’t as cut and dry as that. The birth mother needs to choose an adoption plan, meet potential adoptive parents, and decide if she is happy with them.

Beth’s chances weren’t up by any means, but after hearing the doctor’s explanations, the mother decided that she couldn’t give her child to any just any old person. That’s when she told Beth that she wanted her to adopt the baby girl.

Love At First Sight

As if to thrust the point home, the mother asked a nurse to bring her baby so that Beth could meet her. Once the baby was in her arms, Beth remarked that it was like love at first sight. She got so excited that she called Marc, exclaiming that they just had a baby.

Marc was just as ecstatic. He realized then that he wanted to adopt the child as soon as he had seen her, and knowing that the child’s mother wanted them to just made him more excited. Still, it takes a lot more than a mother’s permission to adopt a child.

Going Through the Process of Adoption

Depending on how finicky adopting parents are about age, race, and gender, adoption could take anything from a few weeks to a few years. Luckily for the Hadden family, the baby in question was everything they wanted and more, making the process smoother than usual.

On the other end, the couple was confident that the system would have no problem with them adopting this baby since they’re already parents to two happy boys. The adoption process went quickly and painlessly. Once finished, the child was named Rebecca Grace Hadden. They always referred to her as Gracie, though.

Happy Parents, Happy Town!

While driving home from the hospital, Beth realized something funny and pertinent: One day, they would have to pay for a wedding. While she was expecting her two boys to be happy about having a new baby sister in the house, they hardly expected the reception they received once they got home.

The entire Myrtle Beach community was happy for the Hadden family and excited to help out wherever they could, whether with providing baby items or just messages of love and support. Nearly all their neighbors wanted to contribute to Gracie’s life in some way.

A Different Problem To Solve

Among all the excitement, the Hadden family forgot to take into account the size of their house. They had a problem to solve in terms of where the new addition to their family would sleep with her own space.

However, the problem was quickly solved when a local contractor named Buddy Satterfield offered to help the family by building an extension to the Hadden house for free. In the end, each child had their own room. Marc and Beth took great pride in having a community of friends who helped in this way.

Marc Hadden, The Great Firefighter

With the Hadden family set up in their new home, they had all the time to enjoy their now complete family. For Marc, that distressing call on November 14, 2011, actually brought him more joy than he thought it ever could. But then, something more joyful happened.

His peers and bosses recognized Marc’s exploits on that day, and at the annual year-end function, he was named Firefighter Of The Year because of it. That being said, all Marc and Beth were happy for was the baby they got, and admittedly, they’ve made her the focal point of the household since she came home.

Always Honest With Everything

While Gracie integrated seamlessly into the Hadden household, Marc and Beth didn’t make it a secret that she was adopted. They both decided that they didn’t want her to find out all in one go or from someone other than them.

Marc even took her back to the ambulance she was born in and made it a point to let her know that he connected with her on the day she was born. They still have fears, though, because Gracie doesn’t 100% understand what her adoption means. They’ll have to wait until she fully understands before giving her an in-depth explanation.

Proud Adoptee

Gracie has grown into a healthy eight-year-old girl that’s full of energy and zest for life. She also wears her adopted status on her sleeve and doesn’t hesitate to tell people how her father delivered her and helped her breathe her first breath.

Her family also makes sure that her real story is discussed all the time. Of course, this is not to isolate her. They only want to make it transparent that they love Gracie regardless of her background and that she shares a bond with them stronger than any blood tie.

Daddy-Daughter Date Night

When you think about the story of Gracie’s birth and how she came to find the family she has now, it’s clear that she and her father were bound to have a strong bond. That’s precisely the case, and according to Marc, she tells him everything.

Marc describes her as his best friend, and they even have regular daddy-daughter date nights at Chick-fil-A, the home of the chicken sandwich and, their favorite spot to eat. These days, she isn’t all about daddy, though, and has developed a life of her own.

Cheering Gracie On

Marc gushes about these being some of the best days of his life, and he has become even more excited about Gracie since she turned eight. Now that she is attending school, she is making lots of friends and has become addicted to her hobbies, which keeps the family busy.

Gracie loves playing soccer and doing gymnastics. These two sporting activities keep the parents’ time occupied since they have to take her to practice and competitions. Her brothers, both teenagers, also get involved and love their sister enough to cheer her on.

Taking Stock Of Their Blessings

Once in a while, Marc and Beth step back and take stock, realizing that they have taken on a massive responsibility. By now, they would’ve had much less responsibility off their hands with two sons already in their teenage years.

The couple has three children to be responsible for, though, which is a lot for almost any parent. Nonetheless, they always maintain that they wouldn’t change it for anything else. Even if it feels like it all just happened overnight, the pair still don’t regret a single decision they have made in the past.

How Everything Fell Perfectly Into Place

What they’re most appreciative of is the fact that what seemed like such a challenging road, smoothed itself out almost instantly. Beth even describes adopting Gracie like winning the lottery, saying that she and Marc got what they prayed for exactly.

The truth is they’ve always yearned for a girl, even before having their two boys, to the point that they considered adopting. Undoubtedly, with their previous birth complications ruling out having a girl naturally, Gracie’s adoption happening as swiftly as it did should be regarded as a sign of her being a blessing.

Why Adoption Was The Best Option

Beth going through two pregnancies makes her a brave woman, especially since she had complications with her first son already. Often, second pregnancies can be worse than the first one since the hormone imbalance caused by pregnancy can become drastically more apparent. It could’ve been even worse if Beth had a third child!

This case isn’t the same for all women, though. Some have easier pregnancies the second time around. However, it is much harder to bounce back and lose baby fat after a second or third child, simply because there isn’t any time for exercise with three kids around.

The Real Hero Of This Story

Naturally, a story as poetic as this one tends to develop wings and become a viral news story. It’s easy to see why the tale of brave firefighter Marc Hadden and the baby girl he birthed, kept alive, and then adopted became a national story.

When the story went viral, it didn’t take long before the Hadden family received emails and messages complimenting them. Newspapers and magazines also jumped on the bandwagon! But whenever someone praises them for saving Gracie, they always double back and say that she, in fact, saved them.

The Grace Of Having A Daughter

Despite always wanting a girl, Marc Hadden had nearly given up hope of ever having a daughter, especially since he and Beth refused to try natural pregnancy again after her complications with the two boys. It’s the reason why he always considers himself blessed to have Gracie.

Marc is also often asked if he has different feelings for his biological children compared to Gracie, and he always says that he only ever thought of her as his own. He never looks at her as an adopted child, and the process of adoption was just a formality for the child he always wanted deep within.

The Love Of Her Brothers

Although they took to having a sister pretty seamlessly, Beth and Marc’s two biological boys, Park and Will, weren’t initially keen on having another sibling, especially a sister. Their parents didn’t even run the idea past them when they were making moves to adopt Gracie!

Then again, things happened so quickly, and as mentioned before, Marc and Beth made a pretty swift decision when it came to adopting Gracie. At the time, it was probably best not to tell the boys beforehand, as it meant they had no time to be upset because the bundle of joy was already there stealing their hearts.

A Happy Family of Five

Marc has since retired from being a full-time firefighter and now only volunteers with the department instead. It was a bold move, but Marc felt it was necessary to spend more time with his entire family, which brings him more joy each day.

Still, Marc will always be appreciative of the job he had. He owes the fulfillment of his and Beth’s family goal achievements to it and that fateful call in November 2011. The couple currently lends their time on building their family and raising Gracie in a perfect household.