DETROIT LAKES, Minn. - At the Ronning family home in Detroit Lakes life revolves around a bouncy 2-year-old named Jaysa.
And while there may be signs that Jaysa Ronning is heading into her terrible 2s stage to know the tiny girl's past is to know that the worst is over.
"Her sleep cycles were horrific, she would be puking, because she would that be riled up and crying so severely," recalled her mom Raimy Ronning. "She had explosive diarrhea, like 30 diapers a day."
Jaysa was born with opiates, methamphetamine and the active chemical in marijuana, THC, in her system.
Her birth mother lost custody, and that's when Ronning -- already a mother of three -- stepped in.
Told the description of Jaysa sounds like an addict coming off drugs, Ronning replied honestly.
"She was, she was born addicted and she was coming off of drugs, I know it's painful and awful for adults but it's just the same for a newborn only they aren't able to express themselves and they don't know how to verbalize it or communicate," she said.
Jaysa has plenty of company.
over the last 10 years, the rates of newborns being born addicted to opiates has ballooned by 500 percent.
"Addiction is hitting everybody. It doesn't matter the status of who you are, the race," Ronning said. "However in this area, we are close to a reservation, so we do see a lot of drug use within poverty."
She's talking about the White Earth Indian Reservation. Ronning says Jaysa's birth mother lives there and continues to struggle with addiction. Ronning contemplates whether the same lure of drugs will reach out to Jaysa.
"The unknowns are very scary. It frightens me," she said.
But for now, Jaysa is thriving, and her family believes in their hearts that the best is yet to come.
If only the big picture news was as good. The Minnesota Department of Human Services says in 2014 there were at least 264 babies born addicted to opiates here in our state, and every year, that number rises. It's a problem DHS is addressing head-on.
They're hoping to get $1.5 million in grant money to invest in treatment and services for pregnant women who are abusing opioids.