Few people would say yes to adopting a drug-addicted infant on the spot, but New Mexico police officer Ryan Holets did without any hesitation.
He and his wife recently adopted baby Hope, the child of an Albuquerque homeless woman who continues to struggle with drug addictions.
Holets met Hope’s birth mother, Crystal Champ, on Sept. 23 while he was responding to a call about a possible theft, the Daily Mail reports. Behind the store, Holets said he found Champ, heavily pregnant and shooting up heroine. She told him that she was between seven and eight months pregnant.
“Why do you have to be doing that stuff, it’s going to ruin your baby,” Holets told Champ.
Champ said Holets’ scolding hurt, but she also sensed that he cared about her well-being and her unborn baby’s. Honey 9 News reports Champ never considered aborting her unborn baby, and she had been hoping that someone would offer to adopt her child.
Without hesitation, Holets – a father of four – did. He told CNN that he felt God urging him to offer to adopt Champ’s baby. He said he and his wife, Rebecca, had been considering adoption, but they decided to wait because their youngest child was still an infant.
But when Holets told his wife about the situation, she also agreed to adopt Champ’s child.
“We feel God has called us to do that,” Rebecca Holets said. “It’s been on our hearts for a while.”
Baby Hope was born on Oct. 12, addicted to opioids. She suffered through withdrawal and detoxing, and doctors put her through a methadone treatment, according to the report.
Holets said Hope is home from the hospital now, but she still has weekly check-ups with their doctor.
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“Whatever struggles she has, we’ll be there and we’ll work through it,” Holets said. “And that makes me happy.”
Champ praised the Holets family for taking care of her daughter. She said she hopes someday her daughter will understand that she loves her but cannot care for her.
“She needs to have a safe environment and a stable life and be able to grow and be nurtured and be safe and secure and all of these things I can’t give her right now,” Champ said. “There needs to be more people like Ryan and his wife and their family in this world.”
Adopting a child with special needs is not an easy decision, but many families like the Holets are stepping up to the challenge. Their story is a reminder that every child is wanted by someone.
