For most parents, finding out you’re expecting quadruplets would be enough of a shock, but after getting the happy news, a Texas couple found out something devastating.
DALLAS – Sept. 22, 2020 – Katie Sturm had nearly gotten over the shock of learning she was pregnant with quadruplets when in February she suffered a sᴇɪᴢᴜʀᴇ at work. She was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with a brain ᴛᴜᴍᴏʀ, which was removed at UT Southwestern in March.
Sturm conceived her babies naturally. The odds of having spontaneous quadruplets are estimated at 1 in 700,000 births, The quadruplets were even more surprising because, at age 16, Katie Sturm was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with primary ovarian ɪɴsᴜFFɪᴄɪᴇɴᴄʏ and told she would be unable to have biological children. Doctors also believe she’s the only woman to have a ɢʟɪᴏᴍᴀ brain ᴛᴜᴍᴏʀ while being pregnant with quadruplets.
“I found out I was having quadruplets, I straight up cried for like two days,” Katie said
Katie and her husband Chris were shocked to learn about the babies, then a sᴇɪᴢᴜʀᴇ led to a second diagnosis.
After Sturm had a second sᴇɪᴢᴜʀᴇ, Dr. Patel recommended removing the ᴛᴜᴍᴏʀ – a ɢʟɪᴏᴍᴀ – during pregnancy. Once the ᴛᴜᴍᴏʀ is removed, the risk of sᴇɪᴢᴜʀᴇ ᴅᴇᴄʀᴇᴀsᴇs substantially, which improves the overall health of both the mother and the babies.
Her boys were born at 32 weeks. – Austin, Daniel, Jacob, and Hudson – ranged in weight from 3.5 pounds to 4.3 pounds at birth. They remained in the NICU to gain weight, improve breathing ability, and learn to feed from a bottle. The first baby was able to go home after four weeks, the last after seven weeks.
After a few weeks in the NICU, the Sturm boys got to join their big brother Ryan at home.
“At that point, I just had to turn it over to God, and I guess he wouldn’t give me quadruplets if he didn’t want me to be around for them, these babies are a lot to handle but they are a blessing,” Katie said.
