Triplets on a Tight Rope
Becky and Dan McGinley always wanted three children. For five years they had been trying to build their family.
“We were ready to adopt but we wanted to give it one last try,” says Becky. Their last trip to the fertility doctor proved successful. Becky became pregnant with triplets; two girls and a boy.
16 weeks into her pregnancy, however, her perinatologist noticed a slight abnormality with the girls. He referred Becky to Dr. Julian De Lia at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, one of the world’s leading authorities on Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome.
Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) is a disease that occurs when identical twins (or higher multiples) in the womb share a single placenta with connecting blood vessels. These interconnections sometimes cause one of the babies to get too much blood and the others too little. Left untreated, the condition can prove fatal for all.
Dr. De Lia, Medical Director of the International Institute for the Treatment of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome located at Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph campus, specializes in fetoscopic placental laser surgery, a procedure he pioneered in 1988. Upon examining Becky, he confirmed the TTTS diagnosis but determined that complications rendered the procedure too risky in her case. Instead he put Becky on bed rest and high protein nutritional therapy.
Becky began seeing the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists at Wheaton Franciscan’s Prenatal Assessment Center (PNAC). The PNAC offers Milwaukee’s most comprehensive programs for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of high-risk pregnancies. At 25 weeks, upon her assessment of the babies, Dr. Margaret Carr, one of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists at the PNAC, determined Becky might deliver at any time, and had her admitted to Wheaton Franciscan St. Joseph Campus.
“I knew that at St. Joe’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit they give every baby a chance after 23 weeks and they have really good outcomes,” says Becky. Immediately she began to see why. “They were doing three non-stress tests a day and near daily ultra sound checks,” she recalls
“They told us it was like our babies were walking on a tight rope without a net.”
At 29 weeks, Dr. Carr and her colleague at the PNAC, Dr. Cresta Jones, determined it was necessary for Becky to deliver immediately in order to save the life of one of the girls. They prepared for an emergency Caesarean delivery.
Dr. Matthew Lee performed the C-Section. “Dr. Lee was wonderful,” says Becky. “He checked on me everyday for the five weeks I was at the hospital. Heading into surgery, he kept me very calm.” The surgery was a complete success.
Today Becky and Dan are the proud parents of two girls, Kaitlyn and Kylee, and a boy, Sullivan.
“Sullivan gave us a bit of a scare his first week but now he’s catching up with his sisters,” says Becky. Sullivan was 2 pounds, 15 ounces when he was born. Kaitlyn and Kylee were 2 pounds, 9 ounces and 1 pound, 14 ounces respectively.
The triplets are coming along very well and preparing to go home with their parents. “There are no indications of long term health issues and they’re eating more and more every day,” explains Becky. “They’re little fighters. They’re tough.”
For now, Becky and Dan spend a lot of time visiting. “We only live about 15 minutes away from St. Joe’s so travel’s not a big deal.” Becky visits her babies every morning for four hours and again at 7:30 every evening with Dan. “Now we can hold them,” she says with an appreciation only someone in her circumstances could know.
Becky looks back on her experience with gratitude. “The whole staff just has such a personal touch,” she says. “Just as an example, Dr. De Lia even arranged to meet us on a Sunday to discuss our options early on. He greeted us at the front door of the hospital and walked us to his office. Later on, after I was admitted, Dan felt very comfortable leaving me in the care of the St. Joe’s staff. The nurses in the antepartum unit were incredible. They made my five week stay as comfortable as possible. We always felt like they were holding our hand.”
Come that happy day when Becky and Dan are able to go home with the three children they’ve always wanted, there will be one sad note: leaving behind the doctors and staff with whom they’ve gone through so much and grown so close.
“They saved my babies!” says Becky. “We’ll miss them all.”