SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — For the first time since 2014, Memorial Health delivered quadruplets.
For mom and dad, their arrival is a Christmas miracle.
“I found out pretty young that I had some fertility issues,” said mom, Mariah Marquez.
After getting pregnant with their now 5-year-old daughter, Mariah and Jose Marquez were told the likelihood of more children was slim.
“Our first was basically, we were told she was a miracle,” said Mariah.
Against all odds, Mariah and Jose knew they wanted their family to grow.
“We tried for about four years and just nothing really worked,” Mariah explained.
But they didn’t lose hope. After four years of trying, they finally succeeded with the help of fertility treatments.
Last week, the couple welcomed not one — but four babies. Three boys and a girl.
“We didn’t think we would even have one kid, let alone another one after our first, and then four after our first. So, we basically went into shock when we found out,” said Mariah.
The emotional journey led to four times the joy.
“Just going from thinking, ‘that could never happen,’ to having your heart so entirely full is just the most incredible feeling,” Mariah said.
The babies were successfully delivered at Memorial hospital by C-section at 33 weeks.
Three days after daughter Delilah was born, she underwent major surgery.
“She’s already fighting as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone ever fight,” said Jose.
The quadruplets are being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for premature infants.
Wednesday was Mariah’s first time holding Delilah.
“Delilah is our fighter, like I said. She went through major surgery at three days old, she’s already been extubated at seven days old and she’s amazing,” said Maria. “And she’s definitely going to give her brothers a run for their money.”
Their newest family members arrived just in time for the holidays, which mom and dad say is the greatest gift of all.
Still, this Christmas, the babies won’t be ready to come home. The couple was emotional as they thought of spending the day apart.
“It’s also so much harder at the same time, just knowing that they’re not going to be home and we’re all going to be separated,” Mariah said.
Still, after years of hoping for this day to come, the couple cannot contain their joy.
“We tried for four years,” said Jose. “So now, we got four babies.”
The couple thanked staff at Memorial Health, especially those in the NICU nursery, where team members are watching over the babies 24 hours a day.