Dallas firefighters celebrate one of their own as his baby son heads home

The useful part

First responders and hospital staff filled the hallway at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas Thursday morning, anxiously awaiting a special guest: 4-month-old Kenji Kammerer. The baby and his parents, Ian Kammerer and his wife, Lindsey, would walk the halls one final time before Kenji heads home after a long hospital stay. Staff gave out plastic maracas with smiles printed on them, pom-poms, and bubbles, all part of an anticipated celebration.

How it works

• Firefighters stood alongside the doctors, nurses and hospital workers who had come to know Kenji over the months, two support systems gathered for one long-awaited goodbye.
• In June, Ian Kammerer, a firefighter used to responding to 911 calls, had to make one for his then five-week-old son Kenji.