Rare quads go home
After two months in the hospital, four identical quadruplets born at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas are now riding out the rest of the coronavirus pandemic in their home.
Hudson, Harrison, Henry and Hardy Marr were born at 28 weeks on March 15, the day before Dallas County’s stay-athome orders were issued. A team of 24 doctors and nurses helped with the delivery. Typical pregnancies last 40 weeks, but it’s generally shorter for multiples.
The boys spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and nearly two weeks in special care before being discharged one by one. Henry, the last baby to be discharged, went home on May 12. They weighed between .45kg and 1.3kg at birth.
‘‘It is so fantastic to have them home,’’ said the boys’ mother,
Jenny Marr of Dallas. ‘‘It feels good to have a pattern and feel a little bit more normal.’’ At their first appointment late last year, Marr and her husband, Chris, thought they would be having triplets. They were surprised a week later when they learned the egg had actually split four ways.
There are only about 72 documented cases of identical quadruplets ever born, according to the hospital, and it’s more unusual to have four identical boys. The couple has no history of multiples on either side of their family.
Leading up to the birth, Jenny Marr said she kept a positive attitude despite the challenges that may come with having four babies in the middle of a pandemic. After the boys were born, she said that she felt the hospital was the safest place for them to be monitored.
‘‘Our nurses were social distancing from their families,’’ she said. ‘‘They weren’t seeing anybody because they put our babies first.’’ The hospital began its no visitor policy March 23. Both parents spent up to 10 hours a day in the hospital as the boys gained enough weight to make the journey home. Like all hospital visitors, the couple was required to be screened and wear masks.
‘‘I just didn’t feel like it was an unsafe place to be and I don’t feel like people should feel like that,’’ Jenny said. – TNS