When Tonya and her husband decided to expand their family from four children to five, they were in for quite a surprise. "We discovered on March 31 that I was expecting triplets. The funny part was, none of our friends believed us, since we announced it on April Fool's Day," she remembers.
Tonya was referred to Lancaster General Health Physicians Maternal-Fetal Medicine for her high-risk pregnancy. Because her previous pregnancies had gone so smoothly, this experienced mom thought she knew what to expect. She found out that with multiples, things would be different, from her pregnancy through labor and delivery.
“My doctor said to me, ‘You are very petite. Expect bed rest. Expect to be in the hospital.’ He recommended a book to me about what to expect with multiples,” she said.
Tonya put her trust in her doctor and followed all of his advice, delivering three healthy, identical baby boys at 34 weeks.
Her experience with Maternal-Fetal Medicine was not over, however. A year later, Tonya discovered she was once again pregnant; this time with a daughter. An ultrasound at 20 weeks uncovered devastating news: the baby had fluid behind her brain and problems with her heart, consistent with Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Tonya was referred once more to Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The doctor gently explained that the baby would not survive, but Tonya was welcome to continue following the pregnancy through ultrasound in order to spend that extra time with her baby.
"I was guided by my strong faith through this experience," Tonya explains. "My baby was monitored and she was able to stay with us 14 hours beyond her delivery. Our family was able to be with her and have her baptized before she passed. It was an incredible gift of time we would not have had otherwise."
Tonya was not finished with diapers just yet. She was expecting again, and happily reported that her baby was healthy and would soon be meeting her seven siblings.
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