sextuplets

lovemyjob · Jun 27, 2007

There was a show, think it was TLC or discovery health that showed a set of large mutliples.... think it was that first set born several years ago. Initially, they had been given a massive home with bedrooms for each child, a large vehicle, tons of diapers and all of the other baby things. Well, several years down the line, they were broker that broke, having to sell the home because they could afford the taxes, they were miserable and truely struggling. Dad had 2-3 jobs, people no longer came to help, no more free supplies. Im sure they are on government help.

So, this outpouring of $$$ will help them get through the first your or so, but unless they have an impressive inverstment portfolio and a dream job, they are all going to end up like this. Taxes in fla are insane as it is, and I cant imagine what they are on a $500,00+ (depending on location can be triple this) home.

There is a set of multiples "john and kate plus 8" on TLC now. Three of them are on nebs 3x day.They do show how difficult it is manage with a set of twins and a set of sexts. The mom used to be a nurse and the dad is in IT, i think. But, the kids are IIRC 3 yrs old, so they havent hit the big expenses like highscool or college.

I dont think people think about the long term when it comes to having these sorts of multiples. They see their face on TV and a bunch of free stuff. Especially with these multiples getting more and more frequent, people are going to stop seeing them as freak shows and the outpouring of freebies will stop.

lovemyjob · Jun 27, 2007

It is interesting the rush to provide for parents of quads or more when many people who do the donating or soliciting themselves object to women who have serial singletons on the public dime.

:yeahthat:

justjenny · Jun 27, 2007

There was a show, think it was TLC or discovery health that showed a set of large mutliples.... think it was that first set born several years ago. Initially, they had been given a massive home with bedrooms for each child, a large vehicle, tons of diapers and all of the other baby things. Well, several years down the line, they were broker that broke, having to sell the home because they could afford the taxes, they were miserable and truely struggling. Dad had 2-3 jobs, people no longer came to help, no more free supplies. Im sure they are on government help.

Not sure that they are THAT poor. They did sell the house, etc. They are the "Dilleys" if I remember correctly and they have been making $$ by selling their story and being featured/interviewed by Diane Sawyer, etc. and the kids do modeling, etc.

We save 22 and 23 weekers, they are NOT born crying...they initially don't do ANYTHING - even once properly vented. Our Neos tell the parents there is a 10% chance of survival with these tiny babies...although in reality our stats have been higher.

Jenny

fergus51 · Jun 27, 2007

Not sure that they are THAT poor. They did sell the house, etc. They are the "Dilleys" if I remember correctly and they have been making $$ by selling their story and being featured/interviewed by Diane Sawyer, etc. and the kids do modeling, etc.
We save 22 and 23 weekers, they are NOT born crying...they initially don't do ANYTHING - even once properly vented. Our Neos tell the parents there is a 10% chance of survival with these tiny babies...although in reality our stats have been higher.
Jenny

How much higher? What are your long term outcomes with them? I'm just curious.

I've seen a couple of miracle kids in the NICU, but the vast majority of 22-23 weekers they were able to intubate have wound up dead or severely disabled. They are by far the saddest patients to me.

lovemyjob · Jun 27, 2007

I remember the dad in that family saying he didnt know what theyt were going to do.... like it was pretty bad.

HeatherB,CST · Jun 27, 2007

Here is the website for the Morrison sextuplets

www.morrison6.com

Last update was on Monday 6/25 after the fourth child died.

RN1121 · Jun 27, 2007

Forgive me if this was already addressed, but I am curious to know what the Morrison's are planning to do with all of the donations and money they have received up to this point.

The donations were given based on the pretenses that there would be six babies to raise and feed. Now that only 2 remain, what happens with all the money and supplies that were raised?

The other day, maybe 2 days ago, I went to the Morrison's web site, and would you believe that they are still requesting donations?

Any takers....

fmrnicumom · Jun 28, 2007

My first son was born at 24+2, and he was born crying. Just little squeaks, but the neos told us that he wouldn't make a sound. He died 3 days later from grade IV IVH. I can't imagine if he had been born sooner. The last few hours of his life were beyond heartbreaking, as it was clear he was suffering. We didn't want to prolong his pain, so we gave the okay to discontinue life support. Given the extent of the damage, he likely wouldn't have lived more than a few more days, but it was still difficult to have to tell them it was okay.

There are some hospitals which say the baby has to cry at that gestational age in order to attempt resuscitation? Also, I was surprised at the hospital that terms anything before 25 weeks a miscarriage. Not that it changes how the parents feel if/when that child dies...

I don't know how I feel about higher order multiples. Well, that's not entirely true. Knowing what I know now about personal experience in the NICU and the challenges preemies face, I'd have to say that it's not the safest idea to chance more than twins. However, as a parent who has had several miscarriages and saw one son die and another struggle (28 weeker) through his NICU stay, I imagine it would be horribly difficult to go through selective reduction. Still, knowing the odds, *logically* it would seem irresponsible not to. When it is a choice you have to make for yourself, rather than someone you don't know, logic isn't always at the forefront.

Tiffany

Nikki730 · Jun 28, 2007

As far as the money donated to the Morrisons, I'm sure they'll find a legitimate use for it. Even if only one of the babies survives, I'm sure it will generate lots of bills (surgeries, nursing care, medicines, maybe special tutoring or different therapies) that will drain the account.

Also, I think that people who donate to a fund (whether it was to the Morrisons or to the baby that Susan Torres had a couple of years ago) know that sometimes the baby/babies don't make it, and that money might get re-distributed to another cause. Probably a court will decide that the money should be re-distributed to a similar cause, like March of Dimes or something. It might be hard to track down each donor to give them a refund.

LydiaNN · Jun 28, 2007

As far as the money donated to the Morrisons, I'm sure they'll find a legitimate use for it. Even if only one of the babies survives, I'm sure it will generate lots of bills (surgeries, nursing care, medicines, maybe special tutoring or different therapies) that will drain the account.
Also, I think that people who donate to a fund (whether it was to the Morrisons or to the baby that Susan Torres had a couple of years ago) know that sometimes the baby/babies don't make it, and that money might get re-distributed to another cause. Probably a court will decide that the money should be re-distributed to a similar cause, like March of Dimes or something. It might be hard to track down each donor to give them a refund.

A court? Why? When you make a donation to a cause like this, that isn't an official charity, you're not being guaranteed of anything, much less that the babies will survive. You're not entering into any sort of a contract, so I can't imagine what legal redress anyone would have if they decided they wanted their money back.

stillpressingon · Jun 28, 2007

Forgive me if this was already addressed, but I am curious to know what the Morrison's are planning to do with all of the donations and money they have received up to this point.
The donations were given based on the pretenses that there would be six babies to raise and feed. Now that only 2 remain, what happens with all the money and supplies that were raised?

I can't imagine, even if all the babies die, that the Morrisons will have a "stockpile" of cash around. They're still gonna have bills for all of them - the bills don't automatically disappear when the babies die. Only someone in billing would know just how much one day in a level III NICU costs, and they had six babies in for what, like a week before the first one died, and then five, then four, and so on. I can't fathom how much all of that costs! Plus, remember the mom was IN-HOSPITAL on bedrest for a bit, too, and even if it wasn't that long, it still adds up quickly.

luvmy3kids · Jun 28, 2007

I can't imagine, even if all the babies die, that the Morrisons will have a "stockpile" of cash around. They're still gonna have bills for all of them - the bills don't automatically disappear when the babies die. Only someone in billing would know just how much one day in a level III NICU costs, and they had six babies in for what, like a week before the first one died, and then five, then four, and so on. I can't fathom how much all of that costs! Plus, remember the mom was IN-HOSPITAL on bedrest for a bit, too, and even if it wasn't that long, it still adds up quickly.

I was going to post this exact same thing... The bills don't just disappear once the babies pass away.

I know for me after a C-section/4 night stay with a healthy baby, my bill came to over $35,000. (I had complications during L & D) Of course the ins. co didn't approve that entire amount, but if I didn't have ins. I would have had to pay it.

No one had to donate, it is a personal choice. Whatever the recipient decides to do with it is up to them.