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I Am a Mother of 5+1

When Joy met her future husband Andres, she told him she didn't want a "normal" life; she wanted adventure. "I didn't know what I was asking for!" she says now with a laugh. Fortunately, the Ronald McDonald House was there when Joy and her husband experienced life's greatest adventure ... times five.

Joy and Andres were elated when they learned they were expecting a baby. But the first ultrasound was a shock they'll never forget. The doctor began to count the fetuses: one, two, three, four, and five. The adventure began.

At 23 weeks Joy was hospitalized until the babies' birth. Her goal was to make it to 28 weeks, when the babies would have a good chance of survival. At exactly 28 weeks, Joy went into labor. All the babies weighed more than the doctors had estimated. While they rapidly gained weight and maintained body temperature, it would be a long time before they could go home.

Andres' employer transferred him to a job near the hospital, and the family stayed at the Greenville Ronald McDonald House in South Carolina for the next two months. "They made us feel so at home," recalls Joy. "Volunteers prepared meals every evening and there were always late-night snacks. We got very close to the people at the House, and they made our daughter Andrea feel very special. Financially, it was a huge help."

Ian, Àdal, Noelani and Nadia went home in June when they were about two months old while Abram battled several infections. And, in the late fall Abram was hospitalized for more than two months in Durham, North Carolina. This time, Joy, Andres, Andrea and the other four babies stayed at the Durham Ronald McDonald House. "It was just amazing, the support and gifts they gave us at both Houses," Joy says.

The babies are now all at home. "Andrea is a like a little mother," says her proud mom, "always making sure the babies' swings are rocking and popping a pacifier in a crying baby's mouth. We are very busy, but we are so thankful for the five little bundles of joy and our peaceful toddler," Joy says. "They are all a gift."

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