Nurse Steps Up & Adopts Teen Mom Who Had No One To Turn To After She Gave Birth To Triplets

Apr 17, 2023

While having a baby is one of the biggest blessings a woman could ever have, it’s also not an easy one. Every woman who wishes to have a baby deserves to have a bundle of joy in their life, but not all of them are ready to have one. Then again, life always has other plans for them. Somewhere along the way, people come into their lives to guide them.

In April 2023, a neonatal nurse from Indiana named Katrina Mullen shared a story about how she welcomed with open arms a 14-year-old mom and her three kids into her life.

Mullen said she noticed that then-8th grader Shariya Small, who was a patient at the hospital where she was working, had been taking care of her child on her own after she gave birth. Yes, no one was there to look after her or her baby at the hospital. In fact, Small would eat a packed lunch or snacks to fill her tummy, making Mullen wonder if the teen was getting support from her family at all.

“She’d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies’ bedside,” Mullen told TODAY in an interview.

But Mullen didn’t delve further into Small’s personal life when the latter told her that she didn’t want to open up about it.

Small’s triplets Serenitee, Samari and Sarayah were born at just 26 weeks in 2020. Therefore, they had to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Indianapolis's Community Hospital North.

Mullen then taught Small about how to take care of newborn children. However, Small started trusting Mullen after she told her that she placed a son for adoption when she was a teen, at the age of 16.

“Something shifted after I told her that I was a teen mom,” Mullen said. “That’s when we really developed trust.”

Mullen then gave Small her number before the triplets were discharged and told her that she could always reach out to her if she ever needed anything. They then started communicating with each other, texting and FaceTiming every now and then. Mullen slowly became Small’s support system.

But Mullen was stunned when she visited Small at her relative’s house in Kokomo, Indiana after she saw the babies were sleeping in a playpen.

“It was not a place for her to raise babies,” Mullen said.

Small’s son, Samari, was covered in eczema and looked “extremely skinny.” Samari was then admitted to a hospital where he was diagnosed with “failure to thrive.”

The Department of Social Services (DSS) was notified of Samari's diagnosis. So, the DSS contacted Mullen and told her that Small wanted to stay at her home. She didn’t hesitate even though she already had three children at home.

“I knew it would be impossible to find a foster home that would take all four of them. No one was going to take a teen mom and her preemie triplets,” Mullen said. 

Mullen fostered Small and the babies for 668 days. Small graduated from an alternative high school and said she is hoping to pursue a career in social work.

In February 2023, Mullen officially became Small’s mom after she received the adoption papers.

“She just amazes me every day. When she’s frustrated with the babies, she never raises her voice. She’s just blossoming into this incredible woman.”

Meanwhile, she set up a GoFundMe to help Small and her babies so they could “build a financial cushion.”

“I'm her mom — and I'm never going anywhere,” Mullen said.

What can you say about the nurse’s decision to adopt the teen mom? Are you happy for her? Let us know what you think and pass this on to anyone who might find this story interesting!