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07-07-2001, 04:18 PM
This story was in "The Sporting News"... Melvin Mora (Bless 'im), on the quints he and his Missus are expecting in September.
July 6, 2001
Mora splits duties between center field and shortstop for the Orioles and between baseball and an expanding roster at home. He and his wife, Gisel, are expecting quintuplets in October. For them, it will be the biggest series of the year.
Before Gisel and I got married last July, we talked about how big a family we wanted. She has a daughter from her previous marriage, and she wanted to have another baby, maybe two. I said, "Let's have six children," and she said, "No way!"
When Gisel got pregnant last winter and we learned she was going to have twins, we felt God had blessed us, but in the middle of spring training, Gisel started to bleed. She was shaking badly, and we rushed to the hospital.
The whole drive we are crying, worried about the babies. If God wanted to take the twins, there must be a reason. That's what I kept thinking. After I got her to the emergency room, I went back to the car and just prayed and prayed and prayed. I did not want to lose our babies.
I finally found the strength to go back inside the hospital. When I got to her room, everyone was laughing. When I had left, Gisel was crying. So I said, "What's going on?" She wouldn't tell me. A nurse asked, "Is this the Daddy?"
Gisel said yes. "Congratulations," the nurse said. "Congratulations five times."
It didn't hit me right away.
"Do you remember how many kids you said you wanted?" Gisel asked. "Do you remember you said six? Well, with my daughter we have six."
Five babies? I could not believe it. The first thing I thought was that God had listened to my prayers too much.
We are so happy. God blessed us incredibly. But it has been very hard on Gisel and me. For over two months now she has been in bed. She can get up to walk around for about 15 seconds -- go to the kitchen or the bathroom -- but that's about it.
I am constantly worried. One time I was in center field and we were having a long game, and I was out there just wondering what I would do if I had to run to the hospital (in the middle of a game) or if there was something wrong with Gisel or the babies. Could I get there on time?
Thank God for my teammates. Jerry Hairston's wife, Tanaha, comes over and cleans the apartment. Jose Mercedes' wife, Leonor, cooks. Fernando Lunar and his wife, Kim, live in our complex, so she stays with Gisel when we're on road trips. Jason Johnson's wife, Stacey, and Ryan Kohlmeier's wife, Tyla, have helped so much.
The hard thing for me is leaving all my worries at home when I go to the field. I know that when you cross the lines you have to leave everything at the house.
My good friend Edgardo Alfonzo of the Mets told me what I need to do, how to go about it, and said to ask God to help me separate what I need to do at home and what I need to do on my job. Edgardo has called me a lot. He keeps telling me to be strong and everything will be possible. He is right.
What I keep coming back to is I grew up without a father. He died when I was 7. I have five brothers and four sisters. I would go into the street and try to find food to help my family.
It was hard for me growing up without a father. It's something no one should have to do. But God took my father for a reason. I think he was trying to give me a stronger mind, to work harder, maybe prepare for these babies.
Gisel understands that baseball is my job and that 90 percent of the game is concentration, so she is always telling me not to worry, to do my job, to be strong. She knows baseball is what I need to do right now for our family.
Sometimes I am so tired when I get to the ballpark. I never want to leave her. She feels safe when I'm there. She's not happy when I go on road trips, so I get emotional.
I rush back to the house after games because I want to be near her and the babies. I put my hand on her stomach and feel them moving around. I'll stay up late, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning, checking on her, checking on the babies or just looking at her.
Many times I'm up half the night. Not that she asks me to. I feel I have to. She will be asleep and then move and go "uhhhhhh." I'll jump up and get worried. It might be 4, 5 in the morning, and it's hard to get back to sleep. Then, I'm up at 8 o'clock to fix her breakfast. By 11 o'clock I'll start thinking about the game, and then we'll have to fix her lunch before I leave for the park.
In many ways, I really don't know how I have handled it. I keep praying and praying for my wife and our babies. There's a good chance they will have to force labor in September. Gisel has been picking out names -- names from the Bible. We think it's God's purpose, God's reason, that we are having five babies, so they should have Bible names.
When the babies come out of her belly, I don't know how I'm going to react. It will be a blessing and a relief. But until then, I worry, I worry, I worry, I worry, I worry. And I'll worry to the end.
© 2001 The Sporting News Online
Wishing Melvin all the best!!! http://forum.addictsports.com/baseball/ubb/biggrin.gif
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I STILL BELIEVE
July 6, 2001
Mora splits duties between center field and shortstop for the Orioles and between baseball and an expanding roster at home. He and his wife, Gisel, are expecting quintuplets in October. For them, it will be the biggest series of the year.
Before Gisel and I got married last July, we talked about how big a family we wanted. She has a daughter from her previous marriage, and she wanted to have another baby, maybe two. I said, "Let's have six children," and she said, "No way!"
When Gisel got pregnant last winter and we learned she was going to have twins, we felt God had blessed us, but in the middle of spring training, Gisel started to bleed. She was shaking badly, and we rushed to the hospital.
The whole drive we are crying, worried about the babies. If God wanted to take the twins, there must be a reason. That's what I kept thinking. After I got her to the emergency room, I went back to the car and just prayed and prayed and prayed. I did not want to lose our babies.
I finally found the strength to go back inside the hospital. When I got to her room, everyone was laughing. When I had left, Gisel was crying. So I said, "What's going on?" She wouldn't tell me. A nurse asked, "Is this the Daddy?"
Gisel said yes. "Congratulations," the nurse said. "Congratulations five times."
It didn't hit me right away.
"Do you remember how many kids you said you wanted?" Gisel asked. "Do you remember you said six? Well, with my daughter we have six."
Five babies? I could not believe it. The first thing I thought was that God had listened to my prayers too much.
We are so happy. God blessed us incredibly. But it has been very hard on Gisel and me. For over two months now she has been in bed. She can get up to walk around for about 15 seconds -- go to the kitchen or the bathroom -- but that's about it.
I am constantly worried. One time I was in center field and we were having a long game, and I was out there just wondering what I would do if I had to run to the hospital (in the middle of a game) or if there was something wrong with Gisel or the babies. Could I get there on time?
Thank God for my teammates. Jerry Hairston's wife, Tanaha, comes over and cleans the apartment. Jose Mercedes' wife, Leonor, cooks. Fernando Lunar and his wife, Kim, live in our complex, so she stays with Gisel when we're on road trips. Jason Johnson's wife, Stacey, and Ryan Kohlmeier's wife, Tyla, have helped so much.
The hard thing for me is leaving all my worries at home when I go to the field. I know that when you cross the lines you have to leave everything at the house.
My good friend Edgardo Alfonzo of the Mets told me what I need to do, how to go about it, and said to ask God to help me separate what I need to do at home and what I need to do on my job. Edgardo has called me a lot. He keeps telling me to be strong and everything will be possible. He is right.
What I keep coming back to is I grew up without a father. He died when I was 7. I have five brothers and four sisters. I would go into the street and try to find food to help my family.
It was hard for me growing up without a father. It's something no one should have to do. But God took my father for a reason. I think he was trying to give me a stronger mind, to work harder, maybe prepare for these babies.
Gisel understands that baseball is my job and that 90 percent of the game is concentration, so she is always telling me not to worry, to do my job, to be strong. She knows baseball is what I need to do right now for our family.
Sometimes I am so tired when I get to the ballpark. I never want to leave her. She feels safe when I'm there. She's not happy when I go on road trips, so I get emotional.
I rush back to the house after games because I want to be near her and the babies. I put my hand on her stomach and feel them moving around. I'll stay up late, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning, checking on her, checking on the babies or just looking at her.
Many times I'm up half the night. Not that she asks me to. I feel I have to. She will be asleep and then move and go "uhhhhhh." I'll jump up and get worried. It might be 4, 5 in the morning, and it's hard to get back to sleep. Then, I'm up at 8 o'clock to fix her breakfast. By 11 o'clock I'll start thinking about the game, and then we'll have to fix her lunch before I leave for the park.
In many ways, I really don't know how I have handled it. I keep praying and praying for my wife and our babies. There's a good chance they will have to force labor in September. Gisel has been picking out names -- names from the Bible. We think it's God's purpose, God's reason, that we are having five babies, so they should have Bible names.
When the babies come out of her belly, I don't know how I'm going to react. It will be a blessing and a relief. But until then, I worry, I worry, I worry, I worry, I worry. And I'll worry to the end.
© 2001 The Sporting News Online
Wishing Melvin all the best!!! http://forum.addictsports.com/baseball/ubb/biggrin.gif
------------------
I STILL BELIEVE