TEXAS – At 2 days old, Ryan O’Keefe, was surrendered by his birth parents in Travis County.
- Texas Safe Have law allows parents to surrender newborns
- Ryan O'Keefe adopted at 2 days old
- Now going to college on full football scholarship
In 1999, Texas passed the Safe Haven law, which allows parents who are unable to care for newborns to leave them in a designated place.
Ryan O’Keefe was the first child adopted in Austin under that law in 2000. His adopted parents, Mike and Donna O’Keefe, said they remember the day they got a phone call that there was a newborn baby that “needed a mommy and dad.”
“They asked us if we wanted to take him in and go through the process of adopting. We said yes and rushed down I-35 to meet him and it was just amazing,” said Donna O’Keefe. “Being with us as a baby he knows we’re his parents and it seemed natural to tell him your birth parents couldn’t look after you, but they wanted you to be looked after.”
Eighteen years after he was adopted, along with his brother James O'Keefe, Ryan O’Keefe said his parents are a blessing.
“I’ve always known I was different than most families but they’re such a blessing in my life and I could not be here without them,” said Ryan O’Keefe. “They’re the most amazing parents.”
The teen said his parents have given him a great life while he now is a star athlete planning to go to college on a full football scholarship in 2019.
“I always say beat the odds, I’m shorter than most people, but it’s always been proving people wrong that’s driven me to be the best I can be,” said Ryan O’Keefe.