I showed up at my firefighter husband Tyler’s station with balloons and his favorite birthday cake, expecting to surprise him.
Instead, the entire station went quiet.
Nobody would look me in the eyes.
Captain Reyes finally walked over and asked, “You don’t know yet?”
My heart dropped.
Tyler had been injured that morning while fighting a warehouse fire. Part of the building collapsed, and he was rushed to the hospital.
When I arrived, I learned he had fractured his shoulder, cracked three ribs, and suffered a concussion.
But there was more.
During the fire, Tyler heard a little girl crying inside the building. Even after everyone was ordered out, he went back in and rescued her.
She survived without a scratch.
Then Captain Reyes told me Tyler had been nominated for the Medal of Valor.
I had gone to the station to celebrate his birthday.
Instead, I discovered just how brave my husband really was.
The next morning, his entire crew showed up at the hospital with his birthday cake and balloons.