Prematurity Awareness Month :: Our Triplet Journey

My wife & I decided we were going to try to have a baby. I already had a 19 year old at that time. After three (1-miscarriage) failed tries of IUI, our specialist suggested trying fertility drugs to increase our chances. I did one round & yep, we were blessed for sure! Triplets!

After the shock, we were preparing to welcome three babies in our home. Doctors had hoped I would carry to at least 30+ weeks. Sadly, I only lasted 24 weeks. Baby A (Finn Edward) was born on 4/12/15, weighing 1.6lbs. The hope was to leave the other two in, possibly days … weeks … but once again my body failed me. The magnesium made me sick and the epidural made my blood pressure bottom out which then meant I had to receive large amounts of fluids to get it back up. All of that fluid along with side effects of magnesium, I developed pulmonary edema in my lungs, so I was basically drowning. The next night my doctor said “we are either delivering these babies tonight or I’ll be trying to save your life.”

Baby B (Rowen Landry) 1.8lbs & Baby C (Lawson Jules) 1.3lbs were born via c-section on 4/13/15. I was put in ICU for close monitoring. 

Little did we know, that the next morning our world would come crashing down on us. Now we were warned ahead of time that our babies were very little & high risk for demise, but it still doesn’t prepare you. All three were intubated and on the ventilator. Tuesday morning the NICU doctor came to see us in the ICU and wanted permission to transport Lawson to Children’s for a special ventilator, the Oscillator.  The way it was presented I didn’t understand the urgency. Once I got to my postpartum room and was trying to get to the NICU so I could see my baby before they transported him, the doctor came in to deliver the news. My sweet little baby Lawson had passed away. His lungs were too underdeveloped and he had a collapse lung which they were not able to correct. I immediately asked to have my son brought to me. He was so perfect, his little nose and lips are my favorite. We kept him with us for the whole day. We took lots of pictures for our memories. This was the hardest day of our family’s lives. You never can prepare for the loss of a child. He is forever our guardian angel.

Our NICU journey was just beginning. Rowen was transferred that night to CHNOLA for that same ventilator that his brother needed. Finn stayed at Touro because he was more stable. He eventually joined his brother at Children’s due to needing a hernia repair. Finn was extubated and reintubated but eventually off vent. Finn came home 4 months after delivery weighing just about 5lbs but Rowen kept failing extubation. After 6 months and my poor baby being so angry with the ET tube down his throat, we decided to go ahead and get a trach placed. Although I am a nurse I didn’t have much experience with trachs; all I knew was it’s a highway for infection which scared me to death. Let me just say once we were trained and the nurses let us be more of the caretakers while visiting, I regretted not getting that trach placed sooner. He did so much better once he had it and was a lot happier. 

Life was pretty challenging at this time. We had one baby still fighting for his life in the NICU and one baby at home. We wouldn’t have been able to survive without my amazing in-laws. When I worked, my MIL would stay home with Finn and my FIL would go sit with Rowen all day in the hospital. After I got off of work I would go to Touro and stay until 11pm or so. When I was off I stayed home with Finn while Dana would go visit Rowen right after work. It was hard to juggle all this while remaining positive for sure. Rowen would have so many ups and downs. But our Rockstar Rowen came home on February 10, 2016, 10 months after birth being Vent & G-tube dependent. Our new journey had begun but once they are home, they flourish! 

Fast forward to now, our boys are 4 ½ & are in a prek-4 class. Rowen still has his trach but believe me it doesn’t stop him from being a normal 4 year old. We are hoping this spring to have it removed. They both love school and are doing so well. These two boys are truly living miracles! We are honored that God chose us for our three boys. If you ask Rowen & Finn if they are “twins” they will correct you by saying, no we are “Surviving Triplets,” our brother is with Jesus in heaven.

 

About Wendi

Wendi is a Metairie, LA native; she moved to Baton Rouge this year to be closer to in-laws who have been our save & grace the past 4 ½ years, and for great public school education for our boys. She and her Wife Dana have been together for just about 12 years and married for almost 6 years. Dana is a school teacher who has taken on a new position this year. She has taught Health & PE to high school girls and coached volleyball for 15 years. Dana was offered a SPED position in Ascension parish which would allow her to be closer to our boys and get home earlier for them, so she is now at Dutchtown High School. Wendi has been a registered nurse for 10 year now. She is currently working at Ochsner’s surgical hospital, The Grove, in Baton Rouge. She is also the mother to a very outgoing determined young woman, Kayleigh Denny who is 24 years old and is in her 3rd year of medical school at LSU. 

You can follow her boys journey on Facebook, search: The journey of the Scharwath triplets.

 

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