Writer Tammy Childress of the Bristol Herald Courier tells the story of Shawna Ramos, whose newborn son was born with NAS – neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Born exposed to the Subutex that his mother took throughout her pregnancy (as part of medical assisted treatment), Shawna’s son Ashton started receiving morphine every three to four hours to help ease the effects of withdrawal. “It’s been a wakeup call. Seeing him like this and knowing what he is going through makes me realize that I need to stop using,” Ramos said, looking at her son sleeping in her lap. “I know now that I need to even stop taking the Subutex because even though it helps me, it’s not worth this — I think seeing the pain he is in will help me to get clean.”
DCS was called when Ashton was diagnosed with NAS, and Ramos said they are handling things differently this time. “This time, the case worker that came to the hospital told me about a program in Johnson City called WOVEN,” she said. “They have support groups and other things that can help me come off drugs and stay clean. I’ve already talked to them twice, so I’m going to go there, and they can help me come off of everything.”
You can find the full article via the Bristol Herald Courier here. To learn more about our WOVEN program, please follow this link.
