Ronda Pierce

Ryan had a special photo made of himself and his daughter to show how blessed he has been by her. She taught him to love, and even to live, as he straightened up his life in order to have full custody of his beloved little girl. (Courtesy photo)

born and said, “When the doctors placed her in my hands, I thought, ‘I have never loved anybody – not even myself. I have never felt that way.’ But when I held my daughter, I felt it. I don’t know if I ever knew what love was until she was born. But I knew I loved her.”

He made changes in his life immediately, motivated by his love for Scottie.

The first challenge he confronted was while he was still at the hospital. Because he had been up all night awaiting Scottie’s birth, he fell asleep in a chair. “A detective tapped me on the leg and told me my daughter tested positive for meth. I volunteered to take a drug test,” Ryan said.

His newborn had to be closely monitored due to the meth and was not allowed to leave the hospital nursery. Ryan would sit with her in a rocking chair – he didn’t want to leave her. “I was scared to leave for fear she wouldn’t be there when I got back,” he said. He stayed an entire 22 hours straight, holding his baby as much as he could.

After a while, the nurses got used to him and began to teach him a little about how to care for a baby. Finally, one nurse told him to go home and shower. “The baby will be here when you get back,” she assured him.

While he was away, he voluntarily signed up for a drug test and asked that the results all be forwarded to the baby’s Health & Welfare caseworker. He was prepared to do anything for his daughter’s sake.

Because of his past history – and especially for having struck his girlfriend – he was placed on a Child Protection Services list, and the baby was placed in foster care.

“I was disgruntled inside – they said it would take 6 months to a year before I would know if I could have custody,” he said.

He was allowed supervised visits.

On January 30, 2017, when Scottie was placed in foster care, the foster mom, Ronda Pierce, was introduced to Ryan. “She was respectful and understanding and very cordial,” he said. He was holding Scottie at the time, and the caseworker

Foster mom befriends biological dad

By Gaye Bunderson

Foster parents and biological parents aren't locked in an adversarial role, as some might see it. “I think there's a misconception that foster parents want to keep all the kids,” said Ronda Pierce, who, along with her husband TJ, served as foster parents for 3 years. During that time, one of their foster children was Ryan Meier's daughter, Scottie.

Ryan was originally told it could take 6 months to a year before the issue of custody was decided. But in a much shorter time frame – 7 weeks, to be exact – Ryan was given custody of Scottie. Caseworkers and others familiar with Ryan sided with him during the court hearing. One of those people was Ronda.

“The biggest thing that stuck out for me was that he was constantly wanting to learn and ask questions. He wasn't too proud to ask for help,” she said.

She was very happy to help teach him parent skills, and was very happy when he was awarded custody. “I think that's your role as a foster parent – you want those parents to succeed,” she said.

The Pierce family had to say goodbye to Scottie, but it wasn't a painful process. “We were not strangers to saying goodbye,” Ronda said. “We were excited for Ryan – he worked really hard to get the baby back.”

The Pierces maintained their relationship with Ryan and his new family – he has a wife and son now too – and Ronda said it was because Ryan needed an extended family of sorts. “Ryan had to give up his whole entire life to stay clean (from drugs). He had no successful relationships.”

The Pierce and Meier families even go to church together. Ryan opted for church attendance because “I wanted to have healthy relationships for my kids and allow them to meet some families and kids they could do things with.”

What does Ronda think is the best message people can take away from Ryan's story? “Our message as a family regarding Ryan is that people can change. Some people think no one deserves a second chance.”

But Ryan's life dispels the idea that nobody deserves a re-start. He worked hard for his own second chance, and he's made the very best of it.