On February 15, 2004, Colorado Springs firefighter Alan Kent responded to a medical call and ended up delivering a baby girl named Chloe. He was the first person to hold her.
Her mom, Stacy, brought Chloe back to the fire station afterward to say thank you. That visit turned into a friendship, and that friendship turned into a pact: Chloe would celebrate birthdays at the firehouse, and Alan would be there for the milestones that mattered.
He kept his word every single time.
This past Friday, Chloe Huddle graduated from Grand Canyon University with a degree in educational studies. Alan Kent, now retired, drove 800 miles from Colorado to be in that crowd.
“Even if I wasn’t retired,” he said, “I wouldn’t miss this.”
For Kent, a career in emergency response meant seeing some of the hardest moments life has to offer. Chloe’s story became the good he carried with him through all of it.
“To have something as great as this was, and then to continue throughout the years to watch her grow,” he said, “that’s been that connection, that bond.”
Chloe is getting married this summer. Alan already knows where he’ll be.
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