The extraordinary courage of a woman who contracted cancer in the middle of her pregnancy and gave birth to QUADRUPLETS.
When Ashley and Andy Adams, both 23 and from Colorado, learned they were going to have quadruplets, they were shocked and delighted, but their happiness was soon marred by a heartbreaking diagnosis: the young mother had cancer.
Some 21 weeks into her pregnancy, doctors at the University of Colorado Hospital told Adams that the cancer was in her thyroid gland and had spread to her lymph nodes.
I remember calling my friend Joe and crying because I was going to lose my wife,” recalls Andy Adams.
In most cases of cancer, doctors immediately recommend surgery to remove the tumor, but in Adams’ case, it was feared that the seven-hour procedure would endanger the lives of his unborn children.
It was scary for the first couple of days, but the rest of the time we put it out of our minds.” Ashley Adams told KDVR. I couldn’t stress because the babies would have stressed”.
On August 26, after thirty weeks, Ashley Adams went into labor and gave birth to a son, Wyatt, and his three sisters: Rylie, Braelynn, and Samantha.
Born around two months prematurely, the newborns were sent to the intensive care unit, where they are expected to remain until Thanksgiving.
For the past two months, their parents, both military, have shuttled back and forth between their home on Buckley Air Force Base and the hospital.
Ashley Adams explained on her Facebook page that she and her husband, who also have older children, had conceived the quadruplets after a two-year battle with infertility.
The 23-year-old was prescribed a pill called Clomid to induce ovulation, which is known to increase the chances of having multiple fertilized eggs.
A few weeks later, Adams underwent an ultrasound that revealed she was pregnant with four babies.
Four weeks after giving birth, the young mother underwent surgery, which proved successful. She and her husband decided to delay chemotherapy and radiotherapy so that Ashley Adams could spend more time breastfeeding her offspring.
Ashley Adams believes that what happened to their family was a double miracle: by concentrating on saving the lives of her unborn children, she unwittingly saved her own life.
If we hadn’t gotten pregnant with quads, we never would have come to the hospital,” said Ashley. I wouldn’t have had the doctor I had. I never would have found cancer.
On September 30, Ashley wrote on the family’s Facebook page, Our Quad Life, that at five weeks old, children “grow like weeds.”
It’s amazing how much they’ve changed since birth. They look more like full-term babies than premature ones! Chubby cheeks, double chins, dimples on their big hands – I love it!
The new mom added that the quads are healthy, eating well and all four have been placed in open cribs.
Adams also gave an update on her health, stating that she’s “healing well” but still has little movement in her neck. She is expected to begin physical therapy soon.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
