Expecting Mom is Expecting Quads

Two Sets of Identical Twins

By Debbie Upp 

Florida Christian News

Elisa and Anthony Ewing of Sebring, Florida are becoming parents. Not an unusual occurrence. However, the Ewing’s are expecting quadruplets, a quite unusual occurrence. To go one step beyond, the quads are two sets of identical twins: two identical girls and two identical boys; a one in 10 million occurrence – A miracle from God.

Elisa knew God meant for her to be a mother. But after much trying, she and Anthony had to turn to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to conceive.  Knowing this procedure to be very costly, both worked tirelessly to save.  Anthony worked as a race team mechanic, which kept him constantly traveling the country and Elisa as a mental health counselor, sometimes working as many as three jobs simultaneously. IVF has no guarantees and the first attempt failed.

Heartbroken and determined, Elisa and Anthony continued their hard work to again save up. “I was devastated after the first attempt didn't work. But I knew I was supposed to be a mom. I knew God wouldn't abandon me. I even had dreams of what my kids would look like.”

The Ewing’s made many sacrifices. Unlike the Ewing’s of the 80’s hit series “Dallas”, Elisa and Anthony don't live on Southfork. In fact, they have been living in an RV since before they got pregnant. “We decided to do it to save money.” They felt they were being responsible by not wanting to go into debt to pay for the procedure. If they got pregnant, they planned to keep working, continue saving until the baby arrived and move back into a more normal home environment. God had a different plan.

The second IVF procedure was successful. Elisa became pregnant from one of the two fertilized eggs implanted. Expecting one, but knowing the possibility of twins was real, Elisa began regular prenatal care. Within a few weeks, hormone tests showed unusual signs. As it turns out, both eggs were developing. The doctor announced it was twins. But, not only was each egg developing, they split. There were two sets of twins; a very rare occurrence.

Elisa and Anthony were joyful and shocked at the same time. Questions flooded their minds about how to prepare for their new family. Anthony sacrificed his well-paying mechanic job for selling cars locally to be with his wife. Elisa worked until at nine weeks in her pregnancy she began hemorrhaging. Faced with losing her miracles, her doctor finally decided to put her on strict bed rest at 12 weeks.

Multiple births in general are complicated. There is not only risk to the unborn babies, but to the mother. One of the main concerns is protecting the uterus, which is why so many women are put on bed rest at some point in their pregnancy when expecting two or more. The extended size of the uterus and extra weight of the babies can cause damage leading to hemorrhaging and miscarriage. There are even risks with strict bed rest, such as pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, and twin-to-twin transfusion, where one baby takes vital fluids from the other.  Options like fetal reduction, aborting one or more fetus to allow any remaining fetus a better chance of going to full-term, are available, but because of their Christian faith, the couple was against it. “It’s in God’s hands. If we miscarry, it would be God’s choice.” Sharon Dorrough, Elisa’s mother believes, “She was chosen to be a mom and have these babies.”

It seems odd that this couple has faced several unsupportive challenges from outsiders. “We have been judged by so many people. They think we chose to have four babies at once. We didn't. God did.” Even an emergency room doctor commented about them considering reduction. “How do you make that choice? Who to keep and who to kill?”  Elisa and Anthony knew it was just not an option for them.

Doctors are very hopeful about Elisa’s one in ten million pregnancy. The goal is to get her to 30 weeks, March 15^th, but 32 weeks would be optimal. The babies are developing well and are all at healthy weights.

Though Anthony continues to work, the loss of the second income and the increase of prenatal care expenses have made it hard for the couple to make ends meet. Family helps where they can but as of yet, Elisa and Anthony can't afford a place big enough to house them and their expected children. There is still a bit of time before the births and the babies are expected to remain in the hospital for several weeks afterwards. “My husband is optimistically looking at houses but it’s not likely we'll find anything.”

There have been some offers of assistance to the couple. Elisa’s co-workers plans to throw a baby shower after they are born and their church hopes to help. But the couple could use more support not just financially but physically and emotionally. “When you ask for help, you open yourself up to all kinds of scrutiny. That’s why we've been hesitant to ask. A family member started a web site for us to try to tell our story and help us raise support.”

Elisa and Anthony Ewing are expecting quadruplets. It’s a one in 10 million birth. The anticipation of the known and unknown is exciting and stressful. But God is with them. All babies to come into God’s world to fulfill a great purpose. When help is needed, Jesus says we are to be servants as he came to the earth “to serve not to be served.”  Anyone who'd like to “serve” this couple and the quads can get more information at www.helpmyquads.com.