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08-22-2001, 09:34 AM
From the O's site at MLB:
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8/20/2001 1:00 pm ET
Batting Around with Melvin Mora
Mora goes in depth on health of his quintuplets
By Becky Dubin
MLB.com
The Orioles' Melvin Mora and his wife, Gisel, are the new parents of quintuplets, born prematurely on July 28 before Melvin could catch a flight out of Anaheim, where the O's were playing a three-game series. Melvin sat down with MLB.com's Becky Dubin, who covers the Orioles, to discuss the babies' health, what it was like to hold the babies for the first time and how Melvin is dealing with fatherhood.
MLB.com: From everything I've heard, four of the babies -- Genesis, Rebekah, Jada Priscilla and Matthew -- are doing better than the doctors expected, considering they were born 2½ months premature. How is Christian faring after the surgery to repair the hole in his intestine?
Melvin Mora: Well, the girls are fine and so is Matthew. But Christian had the surgery, so they can't feed him because of his delicate stomach. They give him protein and vitamins through an IV. He cries -- we can't hear it -- but [the nurses] say he cries; they can see the expression on his face. You just look at him and it breaks your heart to have to see him in pain. But he has made progress.
MLB.com: How did they repair the problem? And do the doctors think he will be able to lead a normal life because of this?
MM: It's very scary. They had to pull the entire intestine out and put it back in. They had to close a hole in the middle of the intestine. In about six weeks or so, they are going in to look at it again. That means taking the entire intestine out again. But as far as him being normal, they say everything should be fine.
MLB.com: I know Matthew also had some health problems relating to his heart. Is he doing better?
MM: Matthew is doing better. They say he has a heart problem. Well, it's not a heart problem; they say it's too early to see if it's a major heart problem. But they are watching him and watching to see what will happen with that.
MLB.com: You hadn't been able to hold the babies at all until [most recently] because they are so tiny and are in incubators. What was it like finally getting to do so?
MM: That was pretty neat. You can tell they know somebody who loves them was touching them. I think they get happy and know they have a reason to be alive. You have to keep doing that because it's important for the baby. I just tried to rub them a little bit on the back and on the head.
But Christian got a little crazy. I was afraid he was going to pull the [monitor cords] out. That's why it's not the best idea to hold them for a long time -- they get all excited. I can't wait to be able to spend more time with them when they get out of the hospital.
They opened their eyes and looked all around. I don't know what they were looking for. In the beginning they were like this (squinting his eyes), and now they look all around and just look at everybody. I just hope God continues to bless us with their good health.
MLB.com: What did you say to the babies when you were holding them?
MM: I said, 'Hang in there, guys. You are going to be fine. Daddy and Mommy are going to bring you to the house soon, and everything will be fine there. You have so many reasons to live. God will take care of you.'
MLB.com: You're at the ballpark so much, but Gisel is able to spend a lot of time with the babies, right?
MM: [laughing] Oh, if she could spend 24 hours a day in there, she would. She is excited, so excited.
MLB.com: Is Tatiana (Gisel's 5-year-old daughter from another relationship that Mora considers his daughter as well) as excited as Gisel?
MM: She is doing very well with all this. She just wants to see the babies every day, all the time. Everywhere she goes, she buys a present for them. She says, 'This is for my sister Rebekah, this is for my sister Genesis and this is for Jada. This is for Matthew.' And then she says, 'This is for my brother Christian, who is really sick.' She puts it next to his bed. But she can only visit on Sundays. That's all they allow.
MLB.com: At first, the doctors said all the babies would have to stay in the hospital for another two months. Do they still think that?
MM: I think the only baby who will have to be there for a while is Christian because the other four are doing good. I think the doctors will give them back to us earlier than two months.
MLB.com: What will it be like to finally have them home and make your family complete?
MM: Oh, I can't wait. It will be unbelievable. We will be a big and happy family.
Becky Dubin is the site reporter for TheOrioles.com
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:) :)
Thoughts and prayers going out for the Mora family!!!:)
---------------------------------
8/20/2001 1:00 pm ET
Batting Around with Melvin Mora
Mora goes in depth on health of his quintuplets
By Becky Dubin
MLB.com
The Orioles' Melvin Mora and his wife, Gisel, are the new parents of quintuplets, born prematurely on July 28 before Melvin could catch a flight out of Anaheim, where the O's were playing a three-game series. Melvin sat down with MLB.com's Becky Dubin, who covers the Orioles, to discuss the babies' health, what it was like to hold the babies for the first time and how Melvin is dealing with fatherhood.
MLB.com: From everything I've heard, four of the babies -- Genesis, Rebekah, Jada Priscilla and Matthew -- are doing better than the doctors expected, considering they were born 2½ months premature. How is Christian faring after the surgery to repair the hole in his intestine?
Melvin Mora: Well, the girls are fine and so is Matthew. But Christian had the surgery, so they can't feed him because of his delicate stomach. They give him protein and vitamins through an IV. He cries -- we can't hear it -- but [the nurses] say he cries; they can see the expression on his face. You just look at him and it breaks your heart to have to see him in pain. But he has made progress.
MLB.com: How did they repair the problem? And do the doctors think he will be able to lead a normal life because of this?
MM: It's very scary. They had to pull the entire intestine out and put it back in. They had to close a hole in the middle of the intestine. In about six weeks or so, they are going in to look at it again. That means taking the entire intestine out again. But as far as him being normal, they say everything should be fine.
MLB.com: I know Matthew also had some health problems relating to his heart. Is he doing better?
MM: Matthew is doing better. They say he has a heart problem. Well, it's not a heart problem; they say it's too early to see if it's a major heart problem. But they are watching him and watching to see what will happen with that.
MLB.com: You hadn't been able to hold the babies at all until [most recently] because they are so tiny and are in incubators. What was it like finally getting to do so?
MM: That was pretty neat. You can tell they know somebody who loves them was touching them. I think they get happy and know they have a reason to be alive. You have to keep doing that because it's important for the baby. I just tried to rub them a little bit on the back and on the head.
But Christian got a little crazy. I was afraid he was going to pull the [monitor cords] out. That's why it's not the best idea to hold them for a long time -- they get all excited. I can't wait to be able to spend more time with them when they get out of the hospital.
They opened their eyes and looked all around. I don't know what they were looking for. In the beginning they were like this (squinting his eyes), and now they look all around and just look at everybody. I just hope God continues to bless us with their good health.
MLB.com: What did you say to the babies when you were holding them?
MM: I said, 'Hang in there, guys. You are going to be fine. Daddy and Mommy are going to bring you to the house soon, and everything will be fine there. You have so many reasons to live. God will take care of you.'
MLB.com: You're at the ballpark so much, but Gisel is able to spend a lot of time with the babies, right?
MM: [laughing] Oh, if she could spend 24 hours a day in there, she would. She is excited, so excited.
MLB.com: Is Tatiana (Gisel's 5-year-old daughter from another relationship that Mora considers his daughter as well) as excited as Gisel?
MM: She is doing very well with all this. She just wants to see the babies every day, all the time. Everywhere she goes, she buys a present for them. She says, 'This is for my sister Rebekah, this is for my sister Genesis and this is for Jada. This is for Matthew.' And then she says, 'This is for my brother Christian, who is really sick.' She puts it next to his bed. But she can only visit on Sundays. That's all they allow.
MLB.com: At first, the doctors said all the babies would have to stay in the hospital for another two months. Do they still think that?
MM: I think the only baby who will have to be there for a while is Christian because the other four are doing good. I think the doctors will give them back to us earlier than two months.
MLB.com: What will it be like to finally have them home and make your family complete?
MM: Oh, I can't wait. It will be unbelievable. We will be a big and happy family.
Becky Dubin is the site reporter for TheOrioles.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
:) :)
Thoughts and prayers going out for the Mora family!!!:)