After greeting identical triplets who were born 12 weeks early and had a 40% chance of surviving, Ellie Dudfield, 21, and Billy Revell, 20, are adjusting to life as a family of five. Young British parents who overcame odds of one in 200 million to have three identical children are adjusting to life as a family of five.
The three boys – Archie, Albie and Arthur – were born 12 weeks early and parents Ellie Dudfield, 21, and Billy Revell, 20, were told there was only a 40% chance of survival. Each boy weighs about 2 lbs and has survived a number of health problems, including sepsis, jaundice and one of them bleeding in the brain.
The triplets, who have a shared placenta, have overcome all chances and are currently living with their parents and Lola, their two-year-old sister, at home. Ellie, an administrative assistant for the NHS, acknowledges that having a 4-year-old child under the age of 2 can be challenging, but she has no choice. We obviously don’t have ordinary lives like other people our age, the proud mother from Kettering in Northampton remarked.
It was difficult but we were always family oriented so we made it. The nurses were impressed by our growth while we were in the NICU with the boys. Strangers always stopped us in the street to look at the boys and they always said ‘well done’ when they realized how young we were.”
The ‘one in 200 million’ trio was born earlier this year on June 30 at 28 weeks and two days after a miscarriage in November 2020.
Archie, Albie, and Arthur were delivered via cesarean section and brought to Kettering General Hospital at weights of 2lb 6oz, 2lbs 2oz, and 2lbs 4oz, respectively. In addition, only one in 80,000 babies are born as triplets, which makes Arthur’s birth even more unusual. Their struggle for survival really starts when they are brought to the neonatal critical care unit.
Archie and Albie were transported to Coventry University hospital after two days because they had significant high blood pressure and required additional mechanical ventilation. Jaundice and sepsis spread to everyone of them. Albie needs a lengthy course of antibiotics since she has meningitis around her brain. We were informed that Archie’s prognosis may not be favorable because of the bleeding in his lung. At the age of just two weeks, doctors discovered that Arthur had Grade 4 Hemorrhage and were unable to assess his quality of life.
Ellie said: “It’s tough having four kids under the age of 2 but routine is important. Fortunately, the hospital has established a good habit for the three kids and feeds them every four hours. Now , they only wake up once a night Lola is going through two terrible phases, which are the most challenging. We have to balance our time to make sure everyone gets their fair amount of attention. The couple upgraded their five-seater to a seven-seater before
