addiction,
What would you do, if you found a pregnant woman shooting up opioids?
Would you adopt a baby who's mother took drugs while pregnant, and who is going to be addicted when she/he is born?
Police officer Ryan Holets found himself in this position on September 23rd. Ryan Holets lives in New Mexico with his wife and four children.
He was out on a theft call, and leaving a convenience store, when he saw a couple shooting up opioids. It was broad daylight, and the woman, Chrystal was very pregnant. He spoke to her, and found out that she was nearly eight months pregnant.
“Why do you have to be doing that stuff, it’s going to ruin your baby,” Holets asked Chrystal.
She broke down in tears after hearing this, because she never wanted to abort her child. Ever since her teenage years, she's battled with addiction, and for the past two years she's been homeless. She spends up to $50 a day on heroin.
As Officer Holets spoke to the Chrystal, she expressed her desire for the baby to be adopted. Immediately he knew that he needed to adopt the child.
It was an easy decision for him, but not an easy situation. He knew the baby would be addicted to the drugs when it was born. He himself had a ten month old child at the time. But he knew this was what he was called to do.
Holets drove to tell his wife, and she immediately agreed to adopting the child, although she was shocked. They had wanted to adopt for a while, not quite so quickly, but they knew it was the right time. After taking the addicted couple out for dinner, the Holets and Chrystal agreed to the adoption.
The Holets paid for lawyer, and adoption fees. They also are working to get the couple into rehab.
Adopting An Addicted Baby
What would you do, if you found a pregnant woman shooting up opioids?
Would you adopt a baby who's mother took drugs while pregnant, and who is going to be addicted when she/he is born?
He was out on a theft call, and leaving a convenience store, when he saw a couple shooting up opioids. It was broad daylight, and the woman, Chrystal was very pregnant. He spoke to her, and found out that she was nearly eight months pregnant.
“Why do you have to be doing that stuff, it’s going to ruin your baby,” Holets asked Chrystal.
As Officer Holets spoke to the Chrystal, she expressed her desire for the baby to be adopted. Immediately he knew that he needed to adopt the child.
It was an easy decision for him, but not an easy situation. He knew the baby would be addicted to the drugs when it was born. He himself had a ten month old child at the time. But he knew this was what he was called to do.
"God brought us all together. I really don't have any other way to explain it." Officer HoletChrystal was very happy when he told her that he would like to adopt her child. She knew that not many people would want to adopt a child who had been born to a drug addict mother.
Holets drove to tell his wife, and she immediately agreed to adopting the child, although she was shocked. They had wanted to adopt for a while, not quite so quickly, but they knew it was the right time. After taking the addicted couple out for dinner, the Holets and Chrystal agreed to the adoption.
The Holets paid for lawyer, and adoption fees. They also are working to get the couple into rehab.
Chrystal had the child, a little baby girl, and the Holet family named her Hope. She is now six weeks old, and still recovering from her drug addiction. But the Holet family has no regrets, and love their little girl.
This Monday, Officer Ryan Holt and his wife were honoured for adopting the child, at a special city hall ceremony. He's been called a hero, but he brushes off those labels. He says the child is a blessing,
Every 25 minutes a child is born, addicted to opioids. They often have developmental disorders, along with sleep disorders and other problems. But what they most need is a loving family to look after them.
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