My Wife Was Put Into A Medically-Controlled Coma After Giving Birth To Triplets At 30 Weeks Gestation

By Adam Questell, father of patient - 04/01/2013 Patient Stories

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We love the Olympics. All of the competition, stories, pageantry and pride kept three 5 year olds riveted for 2 weeks and inspired them to do things they previously had not. Alexa never swam by herself. Now she dips her goggles in the pool and splashes water on her body to “feel the water” before she dives head first and comes up swimming freestyle. Thank you Missy Franklin! Aidan was terrified to swim by himself and let go of Mommy. Now he dives head first and races to beat his sister so he can pump his fist in the air and slap the water when he wins. Thank you Ryan Lochte! Evelyn barely paid attention during tumbling class. Now she practices her cart wheels on her own every chance she gets and always holds her head and hands high in the air to present to the judges. Thank you Aly, Jordyn, Kyla, Gabby and McKayla!

These are the things normal kids born under normal circumstances do. Not triplets born under strenuous circumstances to a mother that almost didn’t survive. On Friday, March 9, 2007, Natalie was brought in to see her perinatologist because her managed contractions were way above threshold. Upon seeing this she was admitted into the hospital for “the duration of her pregnancy”. How long is that exactly? At 30 weeks and 4 days, you hope and pray for another month not a few hours. Those kids needed more time to beat the odds. Preeclampsia really doesn’t care about the odds though. Neither did Natalie’s erratic vital signs that indicated she was dealing with more than preeclampsia. Under general anesthesia, all 3 babies were delivered at breakneck speed.

Baby A (Aidan) was born at 10:03 p.m.

As the nurse rounded the corner, he let out a few faint but audible cries (Music to anyone’s ears under the circumstances). Immediately a kangaroo crew went to work on him, checking every vital sign imaginable. With the help of a CPAP (device that forces air into lungs to prevent them from collapsing), Aidan was welcomed into the world... tubes, wires and all.

Baby B (Alexa) was born on the tail end of 10:03 p.m.

This time there was no crying or movement. Alexa is the smallest, and she was exposed to the anesthesia for a longer period of time so she was still asleep when she entered the world. Her kangaroo crew worked aggressively to get her to respond. As they attempted to put in a breathing tube, she performed her first act of defiance and woke up swinging. One CPAP later, we had a stable healthy baby girl. Baby C (Evelyn) was born at 10:04 p.m.

and despite only being a minute behind she seemed to be miles behind her siblings in terms of readiness to face the world. Her color was dusky red, she was asleep, and was not interested in breathing. She was forced to accept the breathing tube and steadily improved.

By 10:40 p.m. we had welcomed 3 tiny babies into the world at 30 weeks and 4 days gestation, but still no word on Natalie. Once Natalie made it out of the operating room it became a monitored waiting game to see if she would recover from everything. By the morning, it was clear she might not. Under suspicion of fatty liver pregnancy, Natalie was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for closer monitoring and more intensive care. As it turned out, Natalie's kidneys and liver had failed. She lost most of her ability to clot and could not produce urine to expel all the excess fluid accumulating in her body. It was also discovered that her 2 previously repaired hernias opened and allowed blood to seep out into the surrounding musculature. The next day was touch and go as Natalie showed both progress and setbacks. At 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, Natalie went into respiratory arrest and needed an emergency tracheotomy. With damaged lungs, failing kidneys and a struggling liver, the decision was made to place Natalie in a medically-controlled coma for her own comfort and to allow her body to recover in a calm, stable environment under the assistance of a respirator and dialysis. Over the next 2 weeks, our 3 preemies were going through their own their own ups and downs. They were not in as much trouble as other babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but at that age every little thing can turn into a big thing in the blink of an eye. Under the greatest watchful care of tireless and dedicated nurses, physicians, techs and administrators, our 3 little ones seemed to be the pleasant reprieve to an otherwise stressful experience. No matter how good or bad the updates were, their health never felt in jeopardy because of the care they received at every stage. And then the next miracle came. On March 28 — 19 days after being born — 3 complete kangaroo care teams packed up the babies in their isolettes along with all of the monitors and emergency equipment and transported the babies from the NICU to the St. Luke’s ICU. The children were brought up to see Natalie for the first time. This was no small act. This was a huge undertaking and effort orchestrated by a staff that cares for their patients. A total act of compassion that no amount of thanks can put into words what was truly given to a mother and her babies. After 33 days, Natalie was discharged from the hospital. After 47 days, Alexa and Evelyn came home. And after 55 days, our family was complete and finally under one roof.

Now we look back at everything and reflect on our blessings and the possibilities afforded to our family because of the people that make up Texas Children’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. Regardless of whether our kids lead a normal life or beat the odds again and make it to the Olympics, where they can become their childhood idols, we know exactly who to thank — the amazing people and supporters, then and now, from Texas Children’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.