A WOMAN is raising her husband’s ex-wife’s child after she died five days after giving birth.
Christie Werts, 49, and her husband Wesley, 46, received a phone call in August 2021 saying his ex-wife was in the hospital with Covid and pregnant.
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Wesley was warned that his ex-wife was seriously ill and Christie told her partner that if the worst happened, they would adopt and raise the unborn child.
His ex-wife gave birth to Levi at 33 weeks, after labor was induced, but she died five days later from a stroke.
Christie, who was a foster child herself, became very upset and contacted Child Protective Services, telling them that she and Wesley wanted to raise Levi.
Fearing he would end up in foster care while adoption was being considered, the family moved 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) from Toledo, Ohio, to San Antonio, Texas.
They took in 11-day-old Levi and adopted him just over a year later.
Levi, now two years old, is ‘part of the family’, along with their four children from Christine and Wesley’s previous marriages.
Christie, who works in IT, had never met Wesley’s ex-wife and explained that she understood what it was like not having parents.
“I was a foster child myself and I didn’t want him to end up in foster care,” she said.
“We sold our house and moved to Texas and he was placed with me right away.
“Everyone agreed with the decision to keep Levi out of foster care.
“It was hard for the children because they were already settled and had friends. We were now settled in our city.
“We just wanted to make sure Levi was with us.”
“I never thought about adopting Levi,” adds Wesley, a crane operator.
“I fell in love with him immediately. I had the same love for him as I had for my other children.
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“He made me realize that I needed to stop prioritizing work and focus more on my role as a father than as a breadwinner.
“I worked so hard when my other children were younger; I missed out on a lot. He makes me excited about the little things again.”
Wesley and his ex were married for eight years, but split in 2015.
Christie met Wesley in December 2018 and the couple married less than a year later, in July 2019.
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Both couples had children from different relationships: she had two, now aged 22 and 15, and he had two, now aged 15 and 11.
In August 2021, Wesley received a phone call from his ex-wife’s sister. She said his ex-partner was 33 weeks pregnant and in the hospital with Covid.
“When my husband told me what was happening, I told him we could take the baby,” Christie said.
Levi was born on August 23, 2021 and weighed 2 kilos.
“It wasn’t easy,” Christie said.
“Because Levi was born in Texas and we lived in Ohio, we could have moved him out of state to foster him, but that would have taken at least a year.
“He would have ended up in foster care at that time, and we didn’t want that.”
Christie moved to Texas in September 2021 and stayed with her husband’s former sister-in-law for a month before the family relocated in October 2021.
“We all wanted to make sure Levi was with us, but it was difficult moving children to another state,” Christie said.
“In the end, everyone was happy, especially Levi’s half-siblings.”
After living in San Antonio, Texas, for 16 months, the family moved back to Toledo, Ohio, where they lived on a farm.
Although Levi was only a few days old when his mother died, Christie says she is determined to keep his mother’s memory alive.
“We’ve had some short conversations with him, but he doesn’t quite understand it yet,” she says.
“I’m going to put pictures in his room and make her visible. We’re not going to hide her from him.
“We will tell Levi that we love him very much, but we know that he will also experience emotions. It will be nice to have his brother and sister with him.
“I’m going to write a personal book and share his mother’s story with him.”
Christie said Levi is “independent” and “full of life.”
“He wants to do everything himself. I will invite him to try things with me,” she said.
“When I’m going to cook, I invite him. We live on a farm, he’s very independent and very smart.
“He knows the alphabet and is full of life and curiosity. He is the youngest in our family and the center of our attention.”
