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Dad With Superhero Reflexes Makes Incredible Save Seconds After Youngest Flips Out of Her Crib

NewsPublished May 4, 2020
By Genny Glassman
Curtis GrahamCurtis Graham

A dad of three from Philadelphia has gone viral for making an all-time, incredible catch. Curtis Graham was spending the morning with two of his daughters when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. His then 2-year-old, Amelia, spun over the top bar of her crib, and just as she was about to land smack on the ground, Graham leapt from his chair and managed to catch the girl before she hit the ground. Miraculously, Graham caught entire thing on camera -- and the footage is just more evidence that dads really are superheroes at the exact moment we need them to be.

Graham was fresh off a long shift as a truck driver when his youngest daughter decided to try her hand at acrobatics.-placeholder
Graham was fresh off a long shift as a truck driver when his youngest daughter decided to try her hand at acrobatics.
Curtis Graham

Graham was fresh off a long shift as a truck driver when his youngest daughter decided to try her hand at acrobatics.

Speaking with CafeMom, the dad tells us that typically his wife, Kamilla, handles mornings -- but on July 14, 2019, he decided to spend a little quality time with Amelia and his older daughter, 5-year-old Ava.

"Our oldest daughter used to keep [Kamilla] company and would be eyes and ears while my wife gets ready for work and gets our middle child [3-year-old Simone] ready as well," he says.

"I was working as an unloading truck driver for Mclane food service," he adds, telling us that on that day he worked an all-nighter. "So [at the time] I’m probably super exhausted." 

But no matter how tired he was from working a shift, he would at least try to spend some time with his daughters in the morning -- "then I’m usually down for the count."

All the dad wanted was to get in a little quality time.-placeholder
All the dad wanted was to get in a little quality time.
Curtis Graham

All the dad wanted was to get in a little quality time.

His daughters were busy watching educational cartoons and "this Ed Sheeran instrumental song with affirmation phrases that they repeat," he says. Meanwhile, Dad was relaxing and trying to give Mom a break.

Then Graham saw something out of the corner of his eye. "I began see my Amelia break the plane of which I thought she was confined to" -- in other words, Amelia was going horizontal.

It all happened in a matter of seconds.

Graham says he could see Amelia spin forward and release -- she flipped over the bar and down. And his dad instincts immediately took over.

"I instinctively sprung with as much force as I could generate," he says, "and knew this was going to be a catch I was going to have to lay out for and get under, so that’s what I did."

Graham managed to catch his daughter seconds before she hit the ground.

"When I took in what had all just happened, she was in my arms as I was flat on my back," he continues. "I raised my head up, looked at her, shook my head back and forth, and, relieved, let my head bounce back to the floor. Just saying to myself it’s never ending with these babies. You really have to be a superhero to protect them all the time."

Luckily, little Amelia was totally fine after the ordeal.

He couldn't even explain what happened to his wife.-placeholder
He couldn't even explain what happened to his wife.
Curtis Graham

He couldn't even explain what happened to his wife.

Graham tells us he's "big on security" so he happens to have cameras all over the house.

When his wife came in to check in on the commotion, the father was still in disbelief and told her to "check the freaking camera." He says it wasn't until he saw the footage that he understood how things went wrong. Ava accidentally left a Noah's Ark toy in her sister's crib, and that's what Amelia used to step on, putting her in the perfect position to flip over her crib.

"I doubt I saw [the toy] when I walked in, and if I did, it didn’t process that this could be a potential threat," he says. "We have three children and the other two weren’t acrobats, so I had no experience with a climber."

Graham posted the video onto his social media page, where it has since spread like wildfire.-placeholder
Graham posted the video onto his social media page, where it has since spread like wildfire.
Curtis Graham

Graham posted the video onto his social media page, where it has since spread like wildfire.

It wasn't just the dad who was impressed with his quick reaction. More than 21,000 people on Instagram have watched Graham save Amelia from assured disaster on his Instagram page, Life_by_the_graham.

"I shared the video because you live and you learn. My Aunt Martina’s mother, Nani, had a saying that 'you can’t catch gone,'" he says. "Once it happened [it was] a moment that I can’t change and can only be grateful it went how it went and be more careful to see it doesn’t happen again."

Graham says he also wanted to show that dads are more than guys who just leave up the toilet seat or don't help with the housework.

"We are dads! We may not look like it, but we are also always on the job," he says. " I love being a parent and a husband and father, and I love showing how cool and interesting those three things can be."

Graham says he hopes his video can be an important reminder to other parents to pay attention -- even when it seems like your kids are safe.-placeholder
Graham says he hopes his video can be an important reminder to other parents to pay attention -- even when it seems like your kids are safe.
Curtis Graham

Graham says he hopes his video can be an important reminder to other parents to pay attention -- even when it seems like your kids are safe.

Graham warns that parents need to "be alert."

"If you aren’t looking with your eyes, you have to listen with your ears. Even when everything seems fine and relaxed, you still have to be ready -- kids are unpredictable," he explains. "The reality is you won’t be there to prevent everything in their lives from happening, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try."

No matter what kind of antics your kids put you through, stay lighthearted, he advises.-placeholder
No matter what kind of antics your kids put you through, stay lighthearted, he advises.
Curtis Graham

No matter what kind of antics your kids put you through, stay lighthearted, he advises.

Graham says he hopes that others "trust God" and "love each other. There's more than enough room here for us to all to live and get along."

"When I’m dead and gone, I want it to be so difficult to find my best best photo," he adds before stressing the importance of really being there for your kids and putting the time into them. "Your children are the future leaders. Raise them right. Show love so they know love, and they’ll put more into the world."

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