Sextuplets: Our Multiple Birth Medical Journey | Real Stories Full-Length Documentary

we have some music on so we can have a BP don't we we need yeah I can remember when we found out that we couldn't have children straight away and I remember getting so upset everything around you seems to be about babies on the 14th of May 2010 Vicki and Andy lamb became the proud parents of sex tuplets the first to be born in Britain for 177 years good Rosie happy now what's all [Music] this some people say oh it's fertility treatment but if that was the case then there' be sex up pregnancies all over the place so the fact that we fell pregnant with six was a miracle it was it was fate the babies were delivered 3 months premature and each of them faced a fight for survival it's been the hardest year of my life quickest busiest saddest happiest this is an ordinary family with an extraordinary story to tell so we really really really really did hit the jackpot getting our [Music] babies [Music] Vicki and Andy Lamb's six babies were delivered by cesarian section at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford they arrived 14 weeks early AA Leila Pauline lamb was born first 12 weeks on she's the only baby still in high dependency Care on the neonatal [Music] unit she has to stay in here and be looked after yeah last two weeks she's been a bit poorly got set her back because she's got a bit of a bug she's staying in here until she's finished her antibiotics this part's awful than being in hospital and the fact that you just can't relax when I'm on edge or all the time if the phone rings or if you go up there and the machines are bleeping and since the babies were born it's been Vicky and Andy's dream to get them [Music] home the family live in Abington a small town near Oxford on the river temps you see what we're supposed to be having for dinner tonight on the on the menu that we have a follow I do fell in my menu what did you have last night Jack potato didn't you Chinese Andy's a health and safety consultant and before her pregnancy Vicki was the manager of a daycare Nursery sausage C mash tonight oh Wednesday take they've also got a 5-year-old daughter Grace you tell who's on that one rose and Adam no hey that was a that one's no no when you always forget Vicki has polycystic ovaries which reduces her chance of conceiving naturally like the sex tuplets Grace was born after Vicki took the fertility drug Clomid I wasn't really aware the first time and I don't know if you were made aware that it could lead to multiple bursts up until that point I thought just yeah you have a another dose of it and we have a little brother or sister for and that'll be it two babies and yeah that be that' be us done I think the first clue that Vicki's pregnancy was unusual came in February 2010 at her routine 12we scan the sonographer put the gel on and she said right um hang on a minute then she started counting them off didn't she so she went one two um three four just wait a minute I think I'm just going to have to go and get somebody and that's when she went and got Mr Impe the main consultant the consultant counted six babies they'd be the first sex tuplets ever to be born at the John Radcliffe Hospital oh laughing really laughing weren we we were just laughing at head you don't really realize the enormity of what it is or how serious and how dangerous maybe the pregnancy could could be because you don't if you you've Fallen pregnant and you've been waiting for such a long time to have more than one is good you start breathing a little bit more sweet the consultant Lawrence imp prepared them for the dangers of a multiple birth there's increased rates of miscarriage of death and of handicap even with twins so the more babies you have on board the higher the risk they had the nightmare decision as to whether to effectively kill two three four babies at this early stage it involves putting a very long very narrow needle in the heart of a baby and injecting a poisonous substance called potassium chloride into the heart and we usually use about half a mil or 1 mil so a very very small amount and um the baby passes away instantly it just went against every bone in our body to reduce a pregnancy that you tried so hard to get and how would you I know the doctors would have chose but how could you say right okay that one's no good we're going to get rid of that one and then that dead baby's going to stay inside of you so we decided that we were going to just give it the best shot and then if something did happen to the pregnancy it's [Music] fake [Music] Vicki went into labor when she was just 26 weeks pregnant staff were on standby everybody was on site within an hour a team of two doctors and one nurse were there for every baby there were probably 30 extra staff on the lab Ward or needed to be put in their correct places for when the babies came [Music] out lots and lots of people wasn't there cuz I went through on the bed and you're in this pain and then you're thinking oh my God my baby's going to come they were so premature they would need help to breathe and they were in danger of infection well within half an hour all the babies were admitted to the Nal unit they were attached to breathing machines and they were receiving intravenous nutrition Leila Eric Matthew Pippa Ellen and Rose lamb were born 20 seconds apart while Vicky recovered from The cesarian Andy went to see their babies for the first time all these little kind of plastic bags bags and I was just amazed our perfect thank you perfect little hands ears feet fingers the babies were all less than 2 lb in weight the smallest pipper was just 1B 5 oz under 600 G I can remember feeling really really scared about meeting them because when you see them in the photograph and they look so tiny I so they look so perfect but so tiny I was really scared that are they going to be all right [Music] now [Music] Gracey May where am I where are you you remember doing this for Daddy for Father's Day can you do that face [Music] again in May 2010 Vicki and Andy lamb became the first British family in nearly two decades to give birth to sex tuplets Ila Lea Pauline all the babies were in intensive care incubators and in the hours after their birth two doctors and a nurse worked on each baby to give them the best chance of survival Lea was very poorly Eric was very poorly Matthew had a bleed and Rose had had a bleed and peps bless the smallest doing okay at that point and Ellen was doing okay but on the Sunday night we were told that we needed to get them baptized if that's what we wanted to do everything out of your body gets drained away because you're losing your babies but I didn't want to give up I didn't want to get them baptized that's like saying that they can go to heaven or they can go somewhere else and I didn't want them to go anywhere they told us to sit tight and not to come down if it was time to come and say goodbye they would come down and get [Music] us Matthew developed very severe bleeding into his lungs uh and at that point it was very difficult to get adequate oxygen into his bloodstream at that stage Andy and Vicki agreed that it was appropriate to let him go once it got to the point of this is this is it this is as bad as it's going to get now cuz he he died there was a sense of calm because you can't get any worse than it in your childart there is no further to fall than than being that low they were both incredibly Brave a lot of parents if they've had a child die on the unit don't ever want to come back and Vicki and Andy had to face the fact that they still had to come back to visit their other children this little girl is L to reduce risk of infection only Vicki and Andy were allowed to visit the Intensive Care Unit so they filmed this for their family say hi Ellen there was no time to grieve for Matthew the other five babies were so poorly Andy and Vicki had to focus on them big you ell good girl the next couple of weeks he was just trying to get used to the routine the machines and the noises and and the procedes what wasn't normal Ellen and Rose needed surgery to close blood vessels near their hearts and ilila had an operation on her esophagus that's when she was first born was Lea just after operation she just had an operation to have gastrostomy put into her stomach cuz her feeding tube wasn't form properly or was [Music] torn for the next few weeks Vicki spent every day at the hospital and Andy came each evening getting to know their babies through a plastic box hello Peppa Pier Willow lamb it was only after the babies were strong enough to be moved out of intensive care that Vicki and Andy were allowed to hold them you are gorgeous look at that become reasonably comfortable that the children were going to come home that the five were [Music] okay then unexpectedly Pippa the smallest baby was moved back into intensive care pppa developed an intestinal condition called necrotizing entri colitis and this effects between 5 and 10% of very premature babies and what happens is that the gut becomes inflamed and actually part of the gut warm may die and that leads to a rapid spread of infection I kind of presumed that you could cut out a piece of the tummy and make it all right for her because Laya had had surgery but it wasn't like that and it wasn't fixable and it was just awful just really really awful Pippa Willow lamb died when she was just 7 weeks old the hospital made the family a memory box pippy's First Hat wasn't it that she had got to wear a little head warm can you do a to my lovely darling hipper I love you with all my heart I wish you could stay yes I wish you could stay and Grace daddy and mommy they did struggle and it's understandably why they struggled um having done it once now doing it a second time and of course in the back of their minds I'm sure was is it going to happen anymore than days after pippa's death Lila Eric Ellen and Rose got to meet each other for the first time perfect Sneezy Ry bug it was really really lovely but it was also not right that it was only four but it was lovely that I was bit overwhelming wasn't it that they all got to me they holding hands now Eric Ellen and Rose have moved to aside the Special Care Nursery they're preparing for life at home by learning to [Music] feed you doing really well good boy it's just been brilliant since they've gone over to aside and finding out about their little characters so we've just been really hands- on now and picking them up far too much and turn them into little hug monsters Mom good boy that was Champion was Lila the firstborn sex tupet is still in an incubator in high dependency care recovering from an infection it's hard for Vicki having her babies separated again I so scared that it's going to go wrong again and something's going to happen [Music] today nurse Gillian's bringing Lea over to aside Vicki thinks it's just for a visit here [Music] we what she doesn't know is that she's moving here for good and Dr bennit just say she can stay as long as she behaves graduate over oh stop it you'll make me cry now that we've got all of them over to aside it's such a relief such a relief because it means you know that hopefully it's not going to go [Music] wrong the babies are 3 days away from their due date and they'll soon be ready to leave hospital now we got our babies coming home then we worry can yeah then we can worry about them going out and scabbing their knees and stuff when they're biger and I'm don't going to let anybody hold them in case they drop them and I'm not going to let you feed them very much get you do it wrong and you have to listen to me when I say hold them properly okay is it proper precies I can't stop fling now it's happy tears yeah they are now a week later Vicky and Andy get the news they've been waiting for got Ellen and Eric coming home on Friday at 3:00 little boy and a middle girl baby number five [Music] yeah it's your second going home outfit she sick on the first one you I just want my babies and I want to look after them and to be knackered but to be knackered because I've been up changing bums and giving bottles and not just because you're emotionally drained it's going to be fantastic yeah I can't wait to be knackered because of that think you can have no sleep tonight it's wonderful it will be yeah there are no long goodbyes because they'll be back tomorrow to see Lea and Rose as they have every day since the babies were born sure they're all locked in I'm positive they're all locked in I just go check it got OCD come on little babies look someone's left you [Music] flowers yes you smile hello little man you excited to be [Music] home so I look after this just like real years as well 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Grace has only had a couple of short visits to the hospital over the last 16 weeks but today she can act like a big sister okay you sit right back there got eyes open she's got an eyes open she has she's ready to me oh it's already my turn there you go [Music] right [Music] okay you can do that for her did she just pump on your hand she is a bit rude come on you all the milk hey hey hey yes she is it's okay okay then you can hold him with this arm hold him with this arm then you can put his dummy in you can hold his dummy in cuz he spits it out sometimes that's it just put your little finger in [Music] there when the other two come home we'll have them all together again right Vicky and Andy lamb gave gave birth to sex tuplets in May 2010 hello hey Daddy two of their premature babies lived for only a short time two more are still in hospital oh dear you go they were never sure how many babies they'd be bringing home so they've only just started getting the house ready have the [ __ ] in an NA shape could we and then the nappy changer in the corner there they're losing their garage because it's the only spare room in the house big enough for the babies I've got a loose idea we need to convert this into a bedroom but I think I've got an idea how it's going to go and then you might have Andy might have a different idea in his head knitted ones moisturizer and bubble bath and things and several shops have given the family things for the babies after the publicity surrounding the birth we got two double buggies and all car seats that saved us a hell of a lot didn't it today Andy's taking Grace shopping while Vicki stays at home with Eric and Ellen when he cuts high chairs what else we need the bath well spotted we've got a couple of different baths there Grace likes the pink one of course cuz you can't put Boys in pink stuff can you you can can you i s it's going be a bit silly wouldn't it cuz if there are three girls and one boy he's going to have to get used to Pink isn't he good girl that's better he's a good daddy isn't he he does he Cals me down actually sometimes cuz I like to do things quickly and now and make sure they're fed on time and we've got schedule and where Andy can just go with the flow a little bit more hopefully we work together cuz he does need to kick out the bum sometimes and he knows he need to kick out the bum Mommy gave me a list I think I've lost it [Music] so no right we have to remember that's 46895 all together then and he's fantastic with Grace as well really good she's definitely a daddy's girl come on around this side i' like you take the light one off did I the last week's been tiring as well as nighttime feeds at Home Vicki and Andy spend part of every day at the hospital with ilila and Rose it's not surprising Vicki feels torn good girl that was really good and I feel guilty that I'm not up there with um Lila and Rose and I know they will be fine but I am worried about Lea's operation next week Lea's problem with her esophagus means she's tube fed through her stomach and she has another tube in her neck to drain fluid from her mouth at the moment the fluid isn't draining properly so she's got to have another operation her third but it would be good because they've said that 5 days after that hopefully she would be able to come home or possible 5 days depending on how she is but then with every every procedure you get the risk of an infection or something going wrong good girl does that feel better now woo that was quick you just give the hospital a ring and make sure that they're all all right is she still off the oxygen excellent I'll come up tonight I think instead all right okay thanks every so much bye-bye fast asleep 2 weeks on the garage conversions nearly finished so yeah we just got paint it and then carpet cut and the rest of it and there's some fantastic news our little fat Rosie bug is coming home yes she is you're sister but Leila hasn't had her operation yet so she won't be discharged for a while I think today is going to be quite hard for me leaving Lea behind although it's really Lov L bring Rosie BG home it's going to be just really strange I know she doesn't know that she's there on her own but it's going to be a bit bit mixed emotions today I am really right come on then they have to take two cars to the hospital breathe in Alan because they haven't got one big enough to fit the whole family we're never going to get anywhere on time right Guardian on I'll take some of this through to Lea do you want to get little one dressed hello beautiful you going do your excited face oh but before they leave with rose Vicky and Andy are called into a private meeting with the baby consultant Kenny McCormick it lasts over an [Music] hour God here we go R's home oh was such a minging headache sorry Rosie bug Mom feels poorly this is where you live let me see I got to sort myself out down take it's going to be a mission now I've got such a bad headache oh it's really really heavy meeting and I don't quite understand why we had such a heavy meeting on the day we were I know why we you know we had to go through some things but you know when you just I feel like you've been 10 Rounds with o [Music] oh look at [Music] you Hello Kenny was going through the different statistics wasn't he of um chances of having children with disabilities and this was a bit of a bump down to earth cuz kind of we know that they might have don't we hey you to prove him wrong w't we hey yeah so you're good and strong MD Rose is the baby most likely to be affected Rose has had a bleed into to one side of her head the advantage she has is she's got siblings and you know she'll be a child that will have a lot of stimulation with play but we will certainly be watching Rose's development slightly more closely than we were with the [Music] [Music] others very quickly Andy and Vicky adapt to the new routine with three babies at home plop him on the sa plop him on the safer you like being fled on the sa don't you they're still anxious about Lila and take turns going to the hospital every day but at home they're enjoying themselves we are so loving it it's just been such a long time com in and is what we wanted to do and weren't allowed to not allowed to touch them but they had to grow and get better and there was point where we didn't even know if we'd get this but it's just doesn't matter if it gets Mayhem it's just fantastic we've got you here and they've all come through so much that is a beautiful smile look at that there we go it's we no it's not that wasn't wi do that and the garage conversions finished although the babies won't move in for a few months they're still sleeping in Vicki and Andy's bedroom do you think these look really similar now these two no don't you I think they look really similar different you don't do you remember oh P days I'm going to get get my chart done Vicki had to stop breastfeeding when she got mastitis so now she's got to make up 18 bottles of formula a day how much did Eric have 110 in a he was wet Andy yes I did him yeah she's logging every bottle feed and Nappy change I'm trying to do it so that I'm on top so that the next feed we can just go and pick up a bottle fill up with the formula and have them all sterilized and ready I get a little bit here my bottles aren't washed out and as soon as the babies go to sleep Vicki gets on with the housework at 2:00 in the morning they' gone to sleep the other day and I had to clean the floor you just have to try and squeeze things in when you can the other thing I suppose I keep on thinking as well is that because we haven't got six cuz we lost pepper and Matthew I think we kind of geared our myself up for it to be so much more busy that this kind of almost is like I don't know just it's not what it should be it's too [Music] easy I'm sure that it'll get to a point where I will hit a wall and go I'm exhausted now might not though might just keep on going like a yourself bunny [Music] push at 4:00 Grace gets home from school and wants to play where palm down please gr Andy yes she needs to calm down I'm not under any illusion that it's going to be a breeze for Grace I think we have to be very aware I just need to make sure that she has proper oneon-one time go away good girl and then the next word is little cat good girl so that says oh oh no the end good girl it's very good that wasn't so grown up though was it did Chu it come on you late bye bye B sweeter you [Music] it's hard taking all the babies out Vicki's worried about the cold and the risk of infection so they're pretty much housebound at the moment I don't mind I don't mind her parents live nearby and her mom Diana is there to offer support whenever she needs it she is remarkable I can't tell you how proud We we are that I'm really not worried that she will C she has her routines and she's such a lovely Mom it doesn't matter how busy she is she make sure that she still has play times and fun times er look who's here a look there's something drastically missing isn't there let me get your baby sister [Music] Home Vicki and Andy lamb have been waiting for this day since their babies were born in May 2010 where we going [Music] Ellen they're now 5 months old and ilila who is still in hospital is finally coming home going to go and get Lea aren't we little boy we're going to get your sister home the little fat one your big sister I think I'm going to cry much the day today I think so you know you can feel yourself welling up already just going to be so much easier not to have oh it's kind of it's not the end of our journey but it's kind of bit like the end of the night cuz it means that we can start doing things and living and being proper family and doing the good stuff can't we Sorry mom's always a messing not sick you look so excited that you've been sick it's going to be so good to get her home you need another outfit for him and it means of course that she's all right she's well enough to come home she's fat enough she's fat enough bless her yes they've sold Vicki's small car and bought themselves a van big enough for two buggies so they can all travel together to collect Lea Ready Steady mashed potato yes Ready Steady mashed potato Ready Steady mashed potato that makes sense of [Music] it Vicky and Andy have been at the John Radcliff hospital every single day since their babies were born in May Come [Music] on their one wish has been to get them home and today it comes [Music] true two of Vicki and Andy's sex tlets died shortly after birth and Lila was also very ill hello lovely bear she got no clothes put little vess yeah exciting she had surgery on her esophagus and they didn't know if she'd survive Hey fatty SC when she's a year old Lila will have another operation to repair her esophagus until then she'll continue to be fed through her stomach don't pull on that one don't pull on that one good girl the tube through her nose is helping to drain fluid from her mouth it's amazing [Applause] over the last 5 months they've made some good friends here at the hospital it's strange cuz I really really want to go I don't want to leave anybody I feel a bit bed just cry Sor I'm going to go already it is a very strange feeling CU this place has been so much part of your life for weeks weeks and weeks around 60 medical staff have helped look after the little lambs and some of them have stopped by to wish them well your life changed completely in a year hasn't it we get back to normal soon won't we normal's gone [Laughter] [Music] darling [Music] take a picture of I know got crack on under their mils he crummy [Music] babies I'm saying the babies make everything good yeah they love you too you did I did a good job didn't I L introducing your beautiful big sister Grace May lamp oh my goodness look how pretty you look do you think Lea um she says that's that is that good as the answer Grace has finally met all her new siblings and Vicki's thought of ways to make sure she doesn't feel left out by their arrival cuz I'm not very good at teaching but Grace is and first of all she told me she was going to teach them shapes and animals everything don't they they might say the tree is an animal they might yeah so you'll have to teach them you have to say no Ellen that is not a donkey that is flower that's what she love to tell you it's a relief for Vicky to have all her family together for the first time I think three months ago we wouldn't have even well I know that even dreamt of this cuz I didn't want to tempt to fake by thinking that they'd be home now so I think we can just start relaxing now and start planning to do some fun [Music] things what's time is it bedtime [Music] oh 7:00 it is bedtime go go and find me some Jimmy Jams Gracie two weeks later Vicki Andy and Grace have got used to having all four babies at home okay oh I like that one okay it's full on the babies feed every 3 to 4 hours and when one wakes up they all do she got to go to bed M he we're feed now about 9:00 to tonight and then they'll wake up again at 12: or 1 so we'll feed them again then and then take the M baskets upstairs with us then they'll either wake up at 4:00 or they might go through till 5: and then we'll start get in the morning while Andy's working part-time they're sharing the bottle feeds two babies each after feeding at 1:00 a.m. Vicki and Andy take the babies [Music] upstairs they've got two cribs on each side of the bed you trying to get to sleep a little farm Yow going on next to your [Music] bed 3 hours later they're up [Music] again what I do up and down in the night I'll change around the bur the babies are cranky and so are their parents right Eric is trying to P you put the bottle in and he squirts some milk out of his mouth as he's finished pouring you my darling can wake up and show me how it's done [Music] okay a our night seemed to go on forever and ever and ever last night I can't believe it's 8:00 already I was trying to steal the last kind of half an hour trying to pop a do back in a few times and then finally after admit that got to get up oh no Eric Mr wee we that was gross you don't you look at me like that it was you he daddy side in the bed as it put straight on our relationship Andy having these babies what do you think no yeah it it have to be more so um in the night and things like that we are a lot shorter with each other in the middle of the night aren't we yeah so we need to meet in the middle a little bit I need to probably chill down a bit and underneath mean up a lot together I think we'll make it through though will we just about I think so that's what we get there yeah yeah cuz otherwise it'd be very expensive for Daddy wouldn't it Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas let yourself be light from now on our TR will be the lamb family is now looking forward to their babies first Christmas Christmas what you getting you getting off no was yet that one's good what are they three girls and a boy 6 months congratulations thank you very much thank you at the local Christmas Market they're one of the attractions are there twins they're not there's four of them four yeah always find it really hard when people say that what what have you add did you have four why no I didn't say I had I know but Vicky and Andy will always look at their four children and remember two more Matthew and Pippa who didn't survive there's a big big big bit missing but they'll always be remembered and as the others get bigger they'll know about Matthew and they'll know about pipper quick for it starts for the first time they can start to imagine their babies growing up yay when puberty hits we're going to know about it in this house aren't we you're going to have to be a very patient man lots of girls with Attitude at the same time and you and Eric in the shed well you got the girls and I've got Eric [Music] okay there's also the finances to think about at the moment and is still only working part-time it's about not being stupid with money isn't it about looking after what you've got I think as they get bigger andy'll go back to doing more hours at work we probably have to think about moving more North maybe where house prices come down maybe I didn't say definitely did you hear me say maybe going back up north boy that means closer to Andy's family like a snowman I feel your [Music] nose over the last 12 months Vicki and Andy's relationship has been put under huge pressure I think it's nearly killed it to be fair hasn't it a lot of times took it back to the start again isn't it yeah we're we're re rebuilding it aren't we at the moment you can see how be hard for families who've lost children or had anything like this I can be hard to stay together I think we're doing a right at the minute aren't we we have good days and bad days you we do love you the next few months aren't going to be easy there's laya's operation and all the baby's development must be closely monitored especially roses but right now Andy and Vicky are enjoying their little lambs be luy to get one so we really really really really did hit the jackpot getting our babies head across the sea that's the only place I will be but is you it tonight that everything right and baby we we tried anded and try all of the time we C and cry and cry most all of the time but baby baby please give me one more chance and I prise you let me love you

Channel: Real Stories

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Keywords: documentary 2023, full length documentaries 2023, documentary movies - topic, free documentaries on YouTube, Real stories uk, real stories full documentary 2023, trial gone wrong, the drug trial, the drug trial that went wrong, the drug trial emergency at the hospital, the drug trial that went terribly wrong (2017), drug trials gone wrong, clinical trials gone wrong, drug test gone wrong, clinical trials, medical terminology, full documentary 2021, medical coding

Id: 6V77p20u69U

Length: 46min 50sec (2810 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 14 2017