The screenwriters for "This Is Us " couldn't have made a better story.
On Feb. 15, 2004, Stacy Huddle was 39 weeks pregnant with her third child. Little Chloe wasn't due until Feb. 23. What followed is what Huddle termed an "atypical labor" that moved rapidly. Huddle and her husband, Todd, called 911 for assistance.
Four firefighters and four EMTs arrived at her doorstep and although Huddle said at the time that she didn't think she was going to have a baby, firefighter Alan Kent knew otherwise.
In a matter of minutes, Huddle said, Kent delivered Chloe Faith Huddle that Sunday morning.
"Alan was the first to see her and touch her, delivered her right there in our bed," Huddle said.
The family was so grateful they took Chloe to Fire Station 15 not long after. It was there a pact was made: Every year, on Chloe's birthday, the two would meet again to celebrate the moment — with the goal of Chloe eventually attending his retirement, and he her graduation.
Friday, Chloe and her family, as well as Alan and his family, got together to celebrate her graduation from The Classical Academy.
When The Gazette last checked in with the Huddle family when Chloe was 5, her interests were "Little Nemo" and "Hannah Montana." Now, the graduate is into "ER" and is a member of TCA's color guard.
Graduation can be a busy time, and it's no different for the Huddles. Chloe graduated Friday night and caught a flight to Guatemala for a mission trip Saturday. This fall, she'll be attending Grand Canyon University with aspirations to become a nurse.
Between inspiration from her mother, who also is a nurse, as well as spending many birthdays at Station 15 — playing on the firetruck, putting on firefighters' headsets — she knew her calling was to help others.
"I’ve always wanted to serve people. Even though fighting fires may not be my thing, I can serve others in a hospital," Chloe said.
A firefighting veteran of more than 32 years, Kent said the ability to help others is why he continues to do the work. Kent spent a lot of his time as a firefighter repairing the air tanks the fighters wear into burning buildings.
He said delivering Chloe and watching her grow has been the greatest moment of his career.
"I’ve been in this business for over 32 years, and this has probably been the highlight of my career — not just seeing her coming into the world and getting an opportunity to do that, but watching her grow up and watch me grow up, too, and just be friends and family," he said.
"We only see one, the one time (people) call and usually it’s a bad time when they call. This was a good call, this was a call that worked out really well."
