6 minute read
NICU NURSE ADOPTED TEEN MOM AND TRIPLETS
NURSE OF THE QUARTER
Katrina Mullen
By April Rowe, RN
IN A HEARTWARMING STORY, a Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse went above and beyond after she stepped in to adopt a teen mother and her premature triplets who were at risk of being separated by Child Protective Services (CPS). The nurse formed a special bond with the young mother, never realizing that she would soon make a life-changing decision.
Katrina Mullen, BSN, RN, from Indianapolis, Indiana, has been a NICU nurse for over 24 years. Having been a teen mom herself, Katrina understood the challenges and difficulties the young mother, Shariya Small, was facing. Shariya was only 14 when her triplets were born at 26 weeks gestation. Not only was she dealing with typical teen parenting issues, but her babies were born extremely premature, and were hospitalized for over four months.
GOING BEYOND NICU BEDSIDE NURSING
“When I first met Shariya, she was very quiet and timid. She didn’t really speak to anyone and just sat at the babies’ bedsides for hours. It was a lot for her to handle, like it is for any NICU mom, but she had three of them, which made it that much harder,” said Katrina, who was one of the nurses caring for the triplets.
Katrina noticed that Shariya had a lack of support and spent her days in the NICU alone, oftentimes wearing the same clothing for days in a row. Katrina was able to connect with her by discussing her own teen pregnancy and adoption story. Shariya slowly started opening up more to her, and Katrina soon became not just another one of the NICU nurses but her only support.
The triplets, two girls and a boy, Serenitee, Sarayah, and Samari, had a long and stressful NICU journey. After months of hospitalization, the girls — Serenitee and Sarayah — were discharged home, and their brother, Samari, got a gastric tube (G-tube) and was discharged as well.
“On the day the babies went home, I left Shariya a note with my phone number and said if she needed anything, she could call me. We then started texting and calling each other back and forth. Sometimes, she would call me sobbing and was completely overwhelmed. We would FaceTime too, and she would show me the babies and ask me a lot of questions,” Katrina explained.
Having been a teen mom herself, Katrina understood the challenges and difficulties the young mother, Shariya Small, was facing.
KATRINA’S WORLD WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE
One day, during their usual FaceTiming sessions, Katrina noticed that one of the babies appeared much thinner than before. Concerned, Katrina went to visit Shariya and the babies. There, she noticed that the mom and babies were living in a different home and appeared to all be sleeping in the living room. She had a gut feeling that something was not right.
Katrina advised Shariya to take her son to the hospital due to his weight loss and frail appearance. He was admitted for failure to thrive, and Shariya had no childcare for her other two babies while she was at the hospital. Katrina agreed to take the girls home with her and care for them in the meantime.
“One day, I got a call from the hospital social worker who needed to make a visit to my home since the girls were currently in my care. They came to my house and told me that they were removing the babies from their home, and Shariya hoped she could come live with me. My jaw hit the floor! I knew that if they went into foster care, they wouldn’t be able to stay together. I couldn’t let them get separated, and I just thought, we can make this work,” said Katrina.
Even though this was a huge endeavor and life-changing decision, Katrina knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. “Shariya was such a fierce young woman and mom, and I did not want her children to be taken away from her because of her living situation. She just needed support,” added Katrina.
ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY
Shariya and her babies moved in with Katrina, a single mother of five boys, three of whom still live at home. Life got even more chaotic when another teen and three babies moved in, but they were like one big family. “It was important for me to give Shariya a place to put down roots, and it has been awesome,” said Katrina.
I have seven kids in my house, and it’s crazy and exhausting, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Katrina changed her schedule to work night shift on the weekends so she could be there during the week to care for the triplets and take them to their numerous doctor appointments and multiple therapy sessions. Shariya attended an alternative high school that allowed her to bring the girls to the school’s daycare. Her son required specialized care, so he stayed home.
Katrina was their foster mom for almost two years, but on February 6, 2023, she became Shariya’s official adopted mother and the grandmother of Serenitee, Sarayah, and Samari. “I have seven kids in my house, and it’s crazy and exhausting, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” said Katrina.
Shariya, now 17, graduated from high school a year early and started college this year. She plans to become a licensed social worker and help teen moms like herself. Katrina continues to work weekends as a NICU nurse and spends all of her free time being a mom to Shariya and the triplets and her five boys, SeVonte (24), Shai (23), Quay (16), Kovon (15), and JJ (8). “We are like one big family, and I would absolutely do it all over again,” said Katrina.
