Giving birth to one baby is challenging enough, imagine giving birth to three babies at the age of 14.
Then imagine giving birth to triplets with no family support present.
She had to give birth alone.
That’s what happened to Shariya Small.
She gave birth to three small babies in Community Hospital North in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Plus she gave birth to them at 26 weeks instead of the normal 33 weeks.
That’s why her babies had to spend more than five months in the NICU.
Luckily, Katrina Mullen was there.
She is a nurse working at the NICU who noticed Shariya visiting the babies by herself.
“She’d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies’ bedside,” Nurse Katrina shared with TODAY. “I knew if I gave her time, she’d likely open up to me.”
Nurse Katrina always wondered if she had any family because she never brought any food with her.
It was obvious Shariya was very young and Nurse Katrina was concerned for her.
She spent quality time with Shariya while she watched over her triplets, Serenitee, Samari, and Sarayah.
Katrina taught her more about caring for a newborn baby while Shariya taught her about TikTok.
They talked about different topics until Katrina told her that she gave up her baby at the age of 16.
That was when Shariya really began to open up to her.
“Something shifted after I told her that I was a teen mom,” Nurse Katrina said. “That’s when we really developed trust.”
Shariya admitted to Katrina that she often felt judged.
That made Katrina make sure to never make Shariya feel judged by her.
Shariya appreciated this gesture but still didn’t give much information about her family.
Katrina still wanted to make sure that Shariya had someone to turn to when she felt overwhelmed so she gave Shariya her cellphone number.
“I said, ‘If you need anything, you just call me. If you need to talk, or you have a question, I’m here,” Nurse Katrina added.
Shariya took advantage of this kind gesture and kept in touch with Katrina regularly.
Shariya would always call, crying, and Katrina kept reassuring her that she can do it.
It came to the point though when Shariya began to call her so often, Katrina wondered if she really had any support.
Katrina made a decision to visit her at her home.
Shariya said she lived with a relative but Katrina was shocked when she saw their true living state.
The babies were sleeping in a playpen while Shariya slept on the couch.
Plus Shariya’s son, Samari, was so small and had eczema.
This was no place for a young mom and her babies.
Samari had to be admitted to a nearby hospital and, because he was receiving not enough nutrition, the doctors diagnosed him with a failure to thrive.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) was notified.
Shortly after, Katrina received a call from DSS that Shariya and her babies were being removed from their home.
Shariya told them that she would like to live with Katrina.
DSS asked if she was willing to take them all in and she said yes.
Katrina already had three kids at home but she did not even think about the question.
“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,” Katrina shared. “I just kept thinking, ‘I have to do this.’ I knew it would be hard, but we’d figure it out.”
Two years later, Katrina officially adopted Shariya and the triplets are now her official grandchildren.
“Has it been easy? No! She pushes limits just like any other teenager,” Katrina said. “But I love her. I’m her mom — and I’m never going anywhere.”
See how the triplets, Shariya, and Katrina have thrived since living together in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
