Martin Magaoa and his wife, Chervonne, were thrilled about welcoming triplet sons to their family. They already had a 6-year-old son named Tanner, and they couldn't wait to add three more smiling faces to the Magaoa clan.
When Chervonne went into labor with her sons in August 2017, however, things took a turn. The triplets, Aayden, Blaise, and Carson, were healthy, but Chervonne suffered an amniotic fluid embolism and passed away.
According to the New Zealand Herald, which originally broke the story, "The condition happens when amniotic fluid — which surrounds a baby in the uterus during pregnancy and contains products such as cells, hair, urine and secretions from the babies — enters the mother's bloodstream."
Obviously, Chervonne's entire family was heartbroken, but they couldn't wallow in grief — there were newborn triplets to take care of!
Now, five months later, Martin is thanking the community and strangers for their unwavering support.
Photos: GoFundMe
[H/T: DailyMail]
Friends of Martin and Chervonne set up a GoFundMe page to support Martin, Tanner, and the new babies.
They wrote:
With a heavy heart, it pains us to announce that Chervonne Magaoa (nee Smith) sadly passed away Thursday evening while giving birth to her triplet sons.
During an emergency C-section she experienced an amniotic fluid embolism.
She is survived by her loving husband Martin, beautiful six-year old son Tanner and thankfully, her three new baby boys.
Everyone that knows Chervonne can attest to her witty humor, her true friendship and her fierce love and devotion to her family.
We ask that you please donate what you can to help Chervonne’s family at this truly devastating time.
Funds will be used to cover these unexpected funeral expenses.
Excess funds will be used to help Martin and their four young sons as they, and the rest of Chervonne’s family and friends, adjust to life without dear Chervonne.
Although Chervonne's family had to deal with the grief of her death, they had three new lives to keep them occupied.
Some days were harder than others, but Martin loves taking care of his four sons.
Since the babies were born in August, somewhere around 50 volunteers have signed up to help take care of them.
People came to Martin's house in shifts from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
From helping change diapers, to doing evening feedings, to just cuddling the babies, the volunteers did it all.
In addition, all the volunteers fill out logs each time they help the babies — they write down their weight, when they sleep, and when they eat.
Now, Martin wants to thank everyone who has helped out for the past few months.
The triplets are doing well, and "thank you" does not do justice to how grateful Martin is.
Since the GoFundMe was started four months ago, over 1,200 people have donated.
To date, the family has raised over $73,000.
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