When mother of five Phumudzo Mabila was pregnant with her triplets, doctors warned her there was a risk she could end up losing all three babies. However, five years on, Phumudzo is celebrating her daughters’ remarkable triumph against the odds.
Triplets Amambo, Amahle, and Ayabonga were born on Nov. 17, 2015, and live with their mother and two older siblings in Orange Farm, South Africa.
“I only found out I was expecting triplets when I was 5 months pregnant,” Phumudzo told The Epoch Times via email. “Just after being told I was expecting triplets, the doctor soon found out that one of them was not growing well.”
Later into her pregnancy, she received yet more heartbreaking news that all her babies may not survive.
“They decided to deliver the babies when I was 7 months,” Phumudzo explained. “By delivering the babies, they were trying to save their lives.”
Since the day Phumudzo knew that she was expecting triplets, she says her life had changed. The “miracle babies” were born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg weighing 1.3 kilograms (approx. 2.8 pounds), 1.1 kilograms (approx. 2.4 pounds), and 900 grams (approx. 2 pounds). The babies stayed at the hospital for six weeks.
A few days after the babies’ births, Phumudzo’s doctors discovered that one baby had meningitis and found that she would suffer developmental setbacks. Meanwhile, another baby’s legs and hands turned blue overnight.
The worried mother was warned that if the baby’s limbs didn’t return to normal on their own, her hands and legs may have to be amputated.
“Miraculously, she only lost parts of her fingers,” said Phumudzo, “even the doctors were amazed about this fighter; my kids fought for their lives.”
As a mother, witnessing her babies’ tiny bodies go through such enormous suffering, Phumudzo would end up crying almost every single night.
Even routine checkups for her babies were complicated. “I remember being told I must never come to the clinic, I must now go to the hospital because at the clinic they didn’t have experienced doctors,” Phumudzo explained.
Yet, five years later, the mom of five is raising three healthy, happy triplets and finds it hard to believe they were once so small.
Her post garnered over 4,000 comments from well-wishers.
Phumudzo described raising triplets to The Epoch Times as “quite a journey. It’s a challenge raising them since I am a single mother of five,” she explained, “but I can’t imagine my life without them.”
Amambo, Amahle, and Ayabonga are due to start school in 2021. Phumudzo calls the girls her “triple trouble,” and claims that despite the hardship, she wouldn’t be herself without them.
“I love how they love each other,” she reflected, “it gives me hope of the future.”
Friends Read Free