A kind-hearted NICU Nurse decided to adopt a 14-year-old teen mom who gave birth to triplets in her hospital and had no one to look after her.
Katrina Mullen, 45, met Shariya Small, 14, in the intensive care unit at the Community Hospital North in Indianapolis in 2020, where she used to work as a nurse.
When she first met Small, the teen had just delivered her triplets alone and had no family or friends to care for her.
“Shariya, who was in eighth grade at the time, gave birth to Serenitee, Samari and Sarayah at just 26 weeks with the triplets – weighing less than two pounds each – spending more than five months in hospital,” per Daily Mail.
According to Mullen, Shariya visited her babies daily and sat at their bedside alone – “alone for days at a time,” wrote Today.
During that time, Mullen developed a sweet bond with Shariya after revealing that she herself was a teen mom who put her son up for adoption.
Eventually, the two became friends, and one day Mullen visited her place in Kokomo. That’s when she realized that the family of four had no one else in their lives other than each other.
The 45-year-old saw that Shariya used to sleep on a couch in the small house owned by one of her relatives, and her babies were sleeping in a playpen.
“It was not a place for her to raise babies,” said Mullen.
According to People, “Mullen also noticed that one of the babies, Samari, did not seem well, per the report. He was later hospitalized and diagnosed with failure to thrive, a condition related to infants or children being underweight for their age.”
The matter was brought to the notice of the Department of Social Services, and one day; Mullen received a call from the caseworker.
“The caseworker said that Shariya and her babies were being removed from their home and then she goes, “Shariya said she’d like to come live with you. Would you be willing?’” she told Today.
“I just kept thinking, ‘I have to do this.’ I knew Shariya was intelligent and resilient and she just needed a safe place to put her roots,” Mullen added. “I knew it would be hard, but we’d figure it out.”
So, Katrina welcomed the family of four into her home where she used to live with her three young children – SeQuayvion, 16, ShaKovon, 14, and JJ, 7.
She is also a mom to 23-year-old Sevonté and 22-year-old Shai, both living separately now.
For the next 688 days, Mullen fostered Shariya and her babies before officially adopting them in February 2023.
“Small eventually graduated from alternative high school, and learned all she could from Mullen about caring for her children. Two months ago, Mullen’s adoption of Small was finalized. Mullen has also adopted her 2-year-old triplets,” per Today.
Mullen also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for Small and her now 2-year-old babies so she can have some financial assistance.
The GoFundMe has raised over $47,000 so far.
“I’m so proud to be Shariya’s mom,” Mullen told Today. “She just amazes me every day.”
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Source: Today
