Katrina Mullen is a nurse who works with newborn babies at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis. She is known for her dedication and compassion, but what she did for a 14-year-old mom and her triplets was truly extraordinary.
Katrina realized that it would be very hard to find a foster home for a teen mom who had just given birth to three babies. So she decided to do something amazing: she adopted the mom and her babies. This happened more than two years after they met at the hospital.
The mom’s name is Shariya Small. She was only in 8th grade when she had her triplets, Serenitee, Samari, and Sarayah, in 2020. The babies were born too early, at 26 weeks, and they had to stay in the NICU for over five months.
Katrina saw that Shariya was always alone when she visited her babies. She didn’t have anyone to support her. Katrina said, “She’d be there alone for days at a time, sitting at her babies’ bedside.”
Shariya was very shy and didn’t want to talk about her life. But she slowly opened up to Katrina, who shared her own story with her. Katrina had her first child when she was 16, and she gave him up for adoption. She understood what Shariya was going through. Before Shariya and her babies left the hospital, Katrina gave her her phone number and told her to call her if she ever needed anything.
Katrina and Shariya stayed in touch, and Katrina visited her at her home in Kokomo. She saw that Shariya was sleeping on a couch, and the babies were all in a playpen.
Katrina said, “It was not a place for her to raise babies.”
She also noticed that one of the triplets was not doing well. He was too thin for his age, and he had to go back to the hospital.
One day, Katrina got a call from the Department of Social Services. They told her that Shariya and the babies were being taken away from their home and that Shariya wanted to live with Katrina.
Katrina agreed to take them in. She fostered Shariya and her triplets for 688 days. On the other hand, she helped Shariya finish high school and learn how to take care of her children.
Now, Katrina has officially adopted Shariya and her triplets, who are now two years old. She has also started a GoFundMe campaign for Shariya to help her save money for her babies’ future. The campaign has raised more than $100,000 so far.
Katrina and Shariya’s story is not the only one of its kind. There are other stories of adoption that defy the odds. Like the story of Jerry Windle, a single gay man who adopted a sick child and raised him to be an Olympic champion. These stories show that love is the most important thing about being a parent. Everything else will follow.