Officer saves 6-week-old baby on a busy freeway—5 years later, his gesture on her first day of kindergarten stuns all
Some incidents help people form lifelong bonds. However, a state trooper didn't know that he would form a special bond with a little girl on a normal day of duty. The patrol officer, Lt.Paul Stricker, met the girl, Elise Lonsbury, when she was just six weeks old. Her mom was sitting with her on the side of a busy freeway as the baby had stopped breathing all of a sudden. Paul stepped in and saved the baby's life that day. Nonetheless, the bond didn't end there as the man had a special surprise for Elise five years later, on her first day of kindergarten, per the Land of 10,000 Stories.
The Minnetonka girl was super excited for her first day of kindergarten at the Deephaven School as she picked out a green jumpsuit to wear along with her sparkly shoes. She also packed her backpack and was ready to go as she showed off her most "prized possession," according to her mom. It was a batch-shaped Pendant with a chain from Paul and the girl had decided to add that to her attire, too. The State Patrol, along with a nurse, Virginia Marsh, had saved Elise's life around five years before that day. The man had spotted Elise in her pink outfit along with her mom, Kristin, who was holding her crying on the side of a freeway because she was unconscious. Her husband, John, was at work at that time.
"I could not get her to wake up. I was looking right at her and I was like, 'come on, come on,'" Kristin recounted. She was worried that she would lose her daughter. Paul was driving by from there and Virginia was on her way to work when they noticed the woman and stopped to help her. The two of them worked together to keep the baby alive until the ambulance arrived. The girl had been infected by a virus that had stopped her breathing and she had to be at the hospital for five days to get treated. "Something touched all of us that day that made our paths cross for the right reasons and it was a blessing," Paul expressed.
Paul had sent a letter and the pendant to Elise a year later and had promised that he would always be her "guardian." The pendant had been made to look like Paul's batch. The officer also decided to accompany the girl to school on her first day of kindergarten. "She's very excited," John added. Kristin had casually mentioned that it would be nice if Paul could be with her on her first day of Kindergarten, but the man decided to act on it. "Five years ago, I would have never guessed that we would be doing this," Paul pointed out. "It is really special for her. I hope she never forgets the moment," the mom admitted. "To see her as happy as she is today is pretty special," the officer continued. The mom had invited Virginia, too, who couldn't make it because of her work commitments.
People appreciated the officer for being there for Elise in the comments section of the video. @spacelemur7955 wrote, "That is a seriously adorable kid. Officer Paul might as well be called Uncle Paul, because he is clearly family." @nickrobinson8339 commented, "What a beautiful little soul. This has me, a 61-year-old Brit, in tears, but happy ones. So glad the state trooper and nurse were there on the road as, perhaps, fate always intended." @rge2410 remarked, "There is good in this world. This example of humanity needs to spread over the world."