When Dustan Countryman, 40, arrived at his ex’s home with presents for his daughter, life was about to change forever
WORDS: VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH, CANDICE FERNANDEZ. PHOTOS: TRUE LIFE STORIES
A nurse handed me a bundle of blankets, and as I peered down, two bright blue eyes met mine. In that moment, my whole world changed. ‘Hello Levenah,’ I whispered. ‘I’m your daddy.’ It was February 2010 and my girlfriend Jacquita, then 21, had just delivered our baby girl. Jacquita and I had been together a year and she was already a mum to Abigail, then one, who I adored. Now Levenah was here, our perfect family felt complete.
Back home, Levenah was a happy baby and I loved to spend the evenings cuddling her on my chest.
Only, our happy bubble didn’t last. Months after Levenah was born, Jacquita had to go back to work at a local restaurant and she started working long hours. She seemed distant and distracted and I sensed something wasn’t right.
A month on, when she came home in the early hours of the morning, I was sat with Levenah in my arms while Abigail was in bed, and I demanded she tell me the truth.
Jacquita crumpled into tears and admitted that she had been taking drugs. I was so angry. Drugs destroyed lives – how could she be so irresponsible?
But looking down at my sleeping baby, I vowed that it wouldn’t destroy her life.
‘It’s drugs or us,’ I said. Jacquita begged me not to make her choose, and that told me all I needed to know, so I told her to leave and stay with her family. She did, taking Abigail with her. I wished she could leave Abi with me too, but as she wasn’t my biological daughter, I had no choice but to let her go. All I could do was hope that, living with her mum Patricia, Jacquita could sort herself out.
As the weeks passed I thought about Abi often, and kept in contact through Patricia. In the meantime, I was exhausted from looking after Levenah, but it was my biggest joy. My mum Angela helped out when I was working. But I would rush home after my shift for my favourite time of day, when Levenah would nod off on my chest as I read her stories.
I loved being a dad, but it’s true what people say – that children grow up so fast – and Levenah was no exception. She seemed to learn something new every day. She was so bright and she loved nothing more than a big pile of spaghetti for her dinner.
A FRESH START
Then, soon after Levenah turned two, Jacquita rang. ‘I��
