Good things come in threes

WHEN 33-year-old Rosilia Parris was rushed to the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital (MHWH) in labour at 10 pm on Monday, she was early since her due date was March 27. An even bigger surprise awaited since she was expecting one child. The mother of six soon found out that she was having triplets. “I found out today (Tuesday) when they started to come out,” Parris told the media during an interview at the Neonatal Unit of the hospital. Parris said because of problems getting a taxi to take her to the hospital, she was forced to wait until 2 am for an ambulance. When she got to the hospital, the doctors saw the size of her stomach and realised she was having more than one baby.

Parris, of Laventille Road, San Juan, had been seeing a private doctor who did not detect the fact that she was having more than one baby. “I was surprised, shocked, all kinds of thing. It was a nice feeling too,” she said. The first baby, a girl was delivered by Dr Brian Connell at 5.54 am, another girl followed, then the boy. Their weights ranged from 1.5kg (girl), 1.8kg (girl) and 2.14 kg (boy). The triplets have not yet been named. Parris and her self-employed husband, 56-year-old Evans Peruza, are parents of six other children — five girls and a boy ranging in ages from 15 to seven years old. The family does not have a history of triplets. Peruza runs a parlour and is excited about the births.

Asked how they would cope with the triplets, she said: “I don’t know yet.” They had not planned for three babies at once, and Parris was wide-eyed thinking about “getting a bed for three.” She said God did not give more than a person can bear. “It is a blessing. I was not disappointed.” The two girls were in incubators while their brother, although the biggest, was put in a ventilator because he was the weakest. Parris was very sleepy during the interview since she had not slept since giving birth to the babies. She was impressed with the service and said the doctors were helpful and “served me right through” as the pain of childbirth intensified and became difficult to tolerate. She said she felt as though she was “going mad.” Contacted for comment, Peruza said he felt “great” about the births and was hoping and praying for everything to work out.