Omaha, Nebraska — Surrounded by friends and family at his birthday party this week, 10-year-old True Beethe of Omaha, Nebraska, was on cloud nine, but his bliss had not come easy.

Back in 2022, at the age of 5, True needed a heart procedure for a serious congenital heart defect known as hypoplastic right heart syndrome.  

He was under the care of social services at the time. On the day of the surgery, for an unknown reason, he was just dropped off at Children’s Nebraska, an Omaha children’s hospital.

Anesthesiologist Dr. Amy Beethe found him in pre-operative care.

“He was just sitting there all alone,” Beethe told CBS News. “No adult with him at all.”

True himself told CBS News he had “no idea” why he was alone. His case worker was sick with COVID that day, and True was transferred from a rehab hospital. It was unclear why no one else from social services was able to be with him. 

The procedure lasted about seven hours, and through it all, Beethe said she just kept staring at the sweet face of the poor boy who, at that moment, had no mother, father or a stable home life. 

That is when Beethe decided that, even though she already had six children, she just had to take in a seventh.

“After I dropped True off in recovery, I called my husband and I just said, ‘We need to have a talk when we get home. I need you to have an open mind,’” Beethe said.

Ryan Beethe said he was a little hesitant at first.

“But it didn’t take long to hear what was needed, and it just felt right,” Ryan Beethe said.

Dr. Jason Cole, a pediatric cardiologist and medical director of the Advanced Pediatric Heart Failure and Transplant Program at Children’s Nebraska, explained that True’s heart disease “is on the severe end of the spectrum,” and eventually his heart will fail and he will require a heart transplant.

“Without a successful, loving home life, a patient like True with extraordinarily complex congenital heart disease would not be able to survive,” Cole said. “To be even considered as a viable candidate for a heart transplant, you must be in a stable environment with consistent care so that the organ is not rejected.” 

With that in mind, about 18 months later, the Beethe’s adoption of True was complete.

“So yeah, that’s how the story goes,” Amy Beethe said. 

But it’s not how the story ends. Up until he was taken in by the Beethe family, True had been living with five other siblings in an unstable home environment. Amy knew she and Ryan couldn’t adopt all of them, so the good doctor decided to do the next best thing. 

First, she got her sister and her husband to agree to adopt True’s sister TyLynn. Then her sister-in-law and her husband took in True’s sister Tyra.

Finally, she got a coworker and her husband to make Tacari and Malia part of their family. 

“There was one left, and then I went back to my husband,” Amy Beethe said.

That’s how True’s sister Laney was adopted by the Beethe family, too.

And all of this because of a doctor who believed that saving lives wasn’t just her day job.

Series Preview

Michigan State Spartans (3-8) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-5)

Location: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, Lincoln, NE

Dates: March 6th-8th

Times (all CT): Friday @ 2pm, Saturday @ 1pm, Sunday @ 12pm

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Head Coaches: Jake Boss Jr. (18th season, 496-450) & Will Bolt (7th season, 177-131-1)

TV/Stream: B1G+

Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Nebraska baseball goes into conference play having won both of its mid-week games since returning home to Haymarket Park. It’s riding the hot bats of Dylan Carey, and Mac Moyer. Carey is fresh off a 5 for 5 game, the first 5 hit game for a Husker since Gunner Hellstrom in 2018. Carey is leading all Big Ten batters in both hits (28) and doubles (8) and is 2nd in avg. (.509). He is piling up the RBIs with Moyer reaching base at a .592 clip. He is tied for the Big Ten lead with 13 walks.

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Nebraska should also be getting Will Jesske back after a week off due to feeling a twing in his hamstring Friday night at Auburn. Husker coach Will Bolt said he was going to pinch hit if needed the last inning against South Dakota State, but didn’t want him playing the field yet with the cold weather. Jesske has 3 home runs on the year, but with the amount of hits on the barrel he has had at some giant ballparks, he could be close to the Big Ten lead if he played all his games at a place like Haymarket Park.

The Spartans had the biggest upset of the first week of the season, taking the series from then #8 Louisville by winning the first 2 games 4-3 and 13-4. They have struggled mightily since, going 1-8 against a pretty rough schedule. They went from Louisville to #3 Texas and were swept by a combined score of 15-2 in 3 games.

They have a yearly “residency” as they call it, in Greenville, South Carolina early every year, thanks to a big alumni base in the area. They struggled to put up runs in those 2 weeks, never putting up more than 4. Their lone win was a 4-1 victory over Albany, and they ended the residency on a sour note, with a 7 inning run rule loss to #10 Clemson, 12-1. Husker pitchers will need to limit walks and hit batters, and should be able to manage the lineup if they can.

Pitching Probables

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – The Coffee Bin has been selected as one of 70 stops on this year’s Nebraska Passport program, an annual challenge that highlights attractions and promotes local businesses across the state.

An incredible Honor

The owner of The Coffee Bin said the selection was meaningful for her team.

“It’s a huge honor. I mean, to be selected, I don’t know how many applications they get every year for this, but it’s like, so, it’s a big honor. It’s just, you know, we’re just really, really excited to be a part of it,” Penny Billingsley, said.

Tourism and local growth

The owner said participation in the Nebraska Passport program plays a role in helping businesses like hers grow.

“Tourism is a big, big part of, I think, for any city, tourism is important. North Platte has a lot of really unique places to go, and we’re also just in the middle of the state. So there’s, you know, you can get to a lot of different, different destinations from here. So I think it’s very important,” she added.

The Coffee Bin is one of two Lincoln County stops on this year’s Nebraska Passport program. Crystal Cave & Falls Adventure Mini Golf is the other Lincoln County location included in the program.

A full list of attractions is available on the KNOP News 2 app and website.

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