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NICU nurse adopts teen mom after she delivered triplets alone

It was an understanding that only teen moms could share.

via Today|YouTube

NICU nurse shares why she opened her home to teen with triplets.

Having your first baby is a scary experience. Everything is new—you've quite literally never done this before—not to mention an entire human is going to be removed from your body one way or another. Childbirth, no matter how your baby leaves your body, is not for the weak. But imagine giving birth alone to not just one baby, but three, all at the same time. Then imagine doing that feat at the age of 14.

Shariya Small experienced that scenario in a hospital in Indiana, and her nurse Katrina Mullen took note. Small's babies were premature, born at just 26 weeks, when the average gestation for triplets is 33 weeks, according to ReproductiveFacts.org. Due to their early birth, the babies, Serenitee, Samari, and Sarayah, had to stay in the NICU at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis for more than five months, according to Today.com.

During their time in the NICU, Mullen noticed the young mom visited her babies alone, not appearing to have much of a support system. “She’d be there alone for days at a time sitting at her babies’ bedside,” Mullen told Today.com.

The pair got to know each other over the months that the babies were in the hospital, but Small continued to be reluctant to open up about her family life. That changed after she found out that Mullen had her first child at 16 and had given it up for adoption. Their experiences bonded the two moms, and Mullen began helping to care for the babies and Small by giving her advice and showing her how to care for the infants properly.

Eventually, Mullen gave Small her phone number before the babies were discharged from the hospital. It quickly became apparent that Small did not have a support system, as she called Mullen often asking for advice. Out of concern, the nurse went to visit Small an hour away, where she was living with a family member.

The condition of the home was concerning enough, but Mullen became even more worried when she saw how thin Small's son Samari was. It turns out he had to be admitted to the hospital, which prompted a visit from Child Protective Services, who determined that Small and her three infants would need to enter foster care. She gave the social worker Mullen's information and things began to fall into place.

Listen to Small and Mullen explain their unique story below:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com


The triplets in April 2023.


shariya small, triplets, adopted children, kids eating burgers, today show, gofundme Shariya and the triplets.via Katrina Mullen/GoFundMe


Shariya and the triplets in 2024.


shariya small, triplets, adopted children, today show, gofundme Shariya and the triplets.via Katrina Mullen/GoFundMe

Since this story was published in 2023, things have gone well for the family of nine. After the story gained national media attention, a GoFundMe was started to help the family and raised over $140,000. Shariya is now 18 and completed her first year of college, Katrina was able to buy a house, and her boys' high school football team won the state championship. "We are so blessed," Katrina wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Thank you all for your kind words supporting our family. Every day is an adventure."

This article originally appeared two years ago and has been updated.

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A Kansas City radio station found a delicious way to throw shade on Mike Pence.

Mike Pence said he plans to be in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 11 to boast about the GOP's tax law that largely benefits the 1%.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Not so coincidentally, a "sausage fest" was planned to take place in Kansas City the same day — right across the street.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Yeah, people are (literally) cooking up some good old-fashioned trolling of the vice president.

Again.

Local radio station 96.5 The Buzz is throwing "The Mike Pence Sausage Fest" and giving away free hot dogs at Barney Allis Plaza — right across the street from the downtown Marriott hotel where Pence is scheduled to speak.

"Pence is no fan of the LGBTQ+ community," the station tweeted on July 9. "And we’re no fan of his."

It's admittedly pretty fun to troll Pence when it comes to LGBTQ issues.

Lots of others have done it.

His neighbor in Colorado hung a "Make America Gay Again" rainbow flag on a pillar near the VP's driveway in January. In March, John Oliver published a kids' book, "A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo," telling the tale of Pence's supposedly gay rabbit (proceeds benefitted an LGBTQ nonprofit).

In January 2017, when then-vice-president-elect Pence was making the leap from Indiana to Washington, LGBTQ advocates threw a "queer dance party" outside his temporary residence near D.C. (I'm not sure what would be more fun: free hot dogs or a #Resistance block party?)  

Laughs aside, though, Pence's egregious history on queer issues is downright scary.

At one point, Pence supported gay conversion therapy — a fact he wholeheartedly disputes to this day despite evidence to the contrary.

As governor, Pence effectively legalized discrimination against LGBTQ patrons in Indiana businesses with his religious freedom law. (Backlash to the draconian legislation was so swift, Pence was forced to carve out an amendment clarifying that the law couldn't be used to target the LGBTQ community.)

In the past, he's fought marriage equality, criticized the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and slammed the Obama administration for passing guidelines to protect transgender students in school.

For LGBTQ people and their allies, Pence may be the perfect motivation to throw a sausage fest — but he's still nothing short of a nightmare.

Learn more about and support LGBTQ groups — like GLSEN, Lambda Legal, The Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and others — fighting back against the Trump-Pence administration's attacks on queer people and protecting those who are most vulnerable along the way.

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Mike Pence grew up in Columbus, Indiana. Here's what it's like to be LGBTQ there.

Homophobes are made, not born. Mike Pence — basically the homophobe in chief — was made in Columbus, Indiana.

It's a pleasant, small town in the southern part of the state. It's home to a destination-worthy ice cream parlor, a putt-putt golf center, a surprising amount of world-class modern architecture, and around 45,000 people. It's where Pence grew up and formed the values he would later bring to his work.

[rebelmouse-image 19528103 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="Columbus, Indiana. Photo by Graham Coreil-Allen/Flickr." expand=1]Columbus, Indiana. Photo by Graham Coreil-Allen/Flickr.

Pence, who served as Indiana's governor from 2013 to 2017, describes himself as "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." His policies during his time leading the state reflected those priorities, placing the civil rights of the state's LGBTQ population in serious jeopardy. Now, he's got the ear of the president and may, one day, hold the office himself.

Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks as NASA introduces new astronaut candidates. Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images.

So what's it like to celebrate Pride Month in Columbus, the hometown of a man set on using policy to limit the freedoms of the LGBTQ population?

For Sameer Samudra, finding comfort in Columbus didn't happen overnight.When he arrived in 2000, the city was mostly white, Christian, and conservative. Samudra, now 42, a gay man born and raised in Pune, India, says there was a certain degree of culture shock.

"I didn't feel really welcomed or really part of it," he says.

Samudra (left) with his husband, Adit. Photo via Sameer Samudra, used with permission.

Samudra works for the city's largest employer, Cummins, which is a company that designs and manufactures engines and generators. It's under the company's leadership that life in Columbus has improved for LGBTQ people and people of color.

The company began allowing domestic partner benefits in 2000 and recruits employees from all around the world, making Columbus slightly more diverse than neighboring communities. There are now more diverse restaurants and recent immigrants joining the community. It's a welcome sight, even though the town remains around 82% white.

In large part due to the company's push for diversity, Columbus feels more like home for Samudra. He married his husband, Amit, there in 2010. While friends from big cities balked at the idea of getting married in the small community, Samudra didn't flinch.

"I feel like in the U.S., people have these conceptions about 'a smaller town in southern Indiana,'" he says. "There are so many things that you can experience and explore in small Midwestern towns. It's one of the reasons me and Amit... made Columbus our home."

Photo via Sameer Samudra, used with permission.

In 2015, Pence signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a piece of legislation that essentially allowed individuals and small businesses to discriminate on the basis of religion. The law became a national issue with vocal opponents, including longtime Columbus resident Sondra Bolte, 67, who protested against it. Bolte has lived in Columbus since 1981, and after experiencing harassment and intimidation before she came out of the closet, she knew Pence's policy was a step in the wrong direction.

"It seems like it didn't matter who testified, how much testimony there was in favor of our rights; it just always came down on the other side," she remembers. "It was just really incredibly frustrating, but we'd get up and do it again the next day."

At left, demonstrators gather outside the Indianapolis City-County Building in March 2015. On the right is Sondra Bolte. Photos via Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images and Sondra Bolte, used with permission.

Pence signed a "fix" to the bill just a few days later to assuage concerns, but the emotional toll on the LGBTQ community was immediately felt. Samudra says the policy empowered hateful groups and discrimination.

"It felt like someone just insulted me and slapped me in my face and punched me in my gut," he remembers.

Now that Pence is out of state government, many in Columbus are cautiously optimistic. But mostly cautious.

Samudra believes the negativity and vitriol stirred and emboldened by Pence and the Trump administration may actually have worked against them because more allies are moved to act in the fight for equality.

"A lot of straight allies ... didn't realize how bad it can get," Samudra says. "Now a lot of people are asking me, 'What can we do to change this or help ... the LGBT movement?'"

Samudra at a local demonstration. Photo via Sameer Samudra, used with permission.

Indiana's new governor, Eric Holcomb, has rolled back some of Pence's policies, but the damage to the state, particularly the LGBTQ community, hasn't been undone.

"I think [Holcomb] really cares about governing in the state of Indiana and he cares about the people, whereas I think Mike Pence cared about Mike Pence. Period," Bolte says.

That's why Pride Month — in Columbus and across the country — is so important.

For Samudra, it is a chance to celebrate LGBTQ visibility.

"This is a really huge community with their own unique needs and challenges, and [Pride Month] gives us that visibility and that sense of accomplishment," he says.

Revelers hug during Circle City Pride activities in Indianapolis in June 2015. Photo by AJ Mast/AP.

For Bolte, Pride events put faces to the often monolithic "LGBTQ community" designation. These are friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members — not just faces in a crowd.

Celebrations and events can give people still in the closet a boost, too.

"I believe that things have changed for us because people were willing to be out and take whatever comes their way," Bolte says. "June is incredibly important to help people who are a little bit afraid go, 'I can do this.'"

People like Mike Pence have the means and power to do serious damage.

They can strip away the rights, freedoms, and privileges everyone deserves. But they can't take away passion, resilience, or pride, even in the place they hold most dear. Not now. Not ever.

And that's something to celebrate.

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2 years ago, this actor praised a groundbreaking play. Now he's its history-making star.

Two years ago, actor Mickey Rowe said he was jazzed about the success of a new show, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”

The play, an adaptation of Mark Haddon’s 2003 book, focuses on the adventures of Christopher, a 15-year-old boy who deciphers a canine murder mystery in the English town of Swindon. The play took home four different awards at the 2015 Tony Awards.

A marquee for the play's London run, back in 2013. Photo by Andy Roberts/Flickr.

It's a great story. But for Rowe, the play had a personal connection as well.

The play's main character, Christopher, has autism — just like Rowe. He was excited to see a popular play put an autistic character's narrative front and center, even though the actor playing Christopher wasn't autistic.

Rowe himself. Photo from Mickey Rowe, used with permission.

"I think that the show has really done a lot to open people's minds to people who think differently," Rowe told Upworthy in 2015. "It's a bold and inspiring decision to produce a story narrated by an autistic character. I can't wait to see where the show and the narrative of Autism Spectrum Disorder goes in the future."

Two years ago, Rowe probably couldn't have guessed the future of the show would one day include him as well.

On May 11, the Indiana Repertory Theatre announced that Rowe will be stepping into the role of Christopher in their 2017 production of the play.

This makes Rowe not only the first autistic actor to play the role, but also one of the first autistic actors to depict any autistic character in a major production.

The Indiana Repertory Theatre. Photo from Mickey Rowe.

"I never dreamed I would get to play Christopher in this show," Rowe wrote to Upworthy after the news of his casting broke. "It is such an honor to get to represent the autism community."

"When I found out I got the role, it brought tears to my eyes," Rowe says.

This kind of representation, not just for characters but in the actors who play them, is important.

"Everyone should be able to go to the theatre or turn on their TV and see somebody like them, someone who thinks like them," Rowe writes. "Everyone should also definitely be able to go to the theatre or turn on their TV and see somebody who is very different than themselves."

There are 56 million Americans with disabilities living in the United States, according to the 2010 Census. That's nearly 20%. But a 2016 analysis of TV shows found that less than 1% of TV characters had disabilities. Furthermore, when a story does feature a character with a disability, more than 9 times out of 10, that character is played by a non-disabled actor.

"Young actors in this country who have disabilities need to be able to see role models who will tell them that if you are different, if you access the world differently, if you need special accommodations, then the world needs you!" Rowe says.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" featuring Rowe's performance will run from September through November 2017.

The play is directed by Risa Brainin and will be performed at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage.

You can check out a video of Rowe's audition below:

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