By Sola Ogundipe
HE appeared outwardly calm and unruffled, but deep down, Kola Oladele was a troubled man. One only needed to spend a few minutes in his company to appreciate his stress.

Luckily, the man himself was under no illusions about the implications of his newly-acquired status of father of many newborn babies – four to be precise.

Kola’s lamentation was endless. “I never bargained for four babies. I did not even expect twins. But I take it as God’s work. It is God’s doing. That is the only way I can describe this experience. Although there are twins on my side of the family and also on my wife’s side, we did not dream of having four children at the same time.”

Hailing from Osun State, Kola is the father of the second set of quadruplets delivered last week at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos. It was an inevitable and weighty title he had to accept and begin to get familiar with. For Kola, the next step to take is the step of responsibility. But this is easier said than done.

Heavy load

“This is a heavy load and I need help to carry it. Everything now is money, money, money It’s hard enough caring for one baby, but four at once is something else. Whoever can help me should do so now. This is the time to come to my aid. The hospital bills are there. I need help, whoever is willing to help is welcome.”

Even his 33-year-old wife, Bunmi, who had the ordeal of carrying the multiple birth pregnancy for a total of 27 weeks, confessed she was initially taken aback when the report of an ultrasound scan she had sometime in May this year, indicated there were four foetuses growing in her womb.

Two sets of quadruplets

But whether they expected it or not, Kola and Bunmi Oladele of 37 Ojuelegba Road, Dalemo, Alakuko, Lagos, had made history as the second couple to give birth to a set of quadruplets exactly one week after another couple – the Itamas – achieved a similar feat at the same health institution.

Glaring similarities exist between the two sets of quadruplets born last week at the LUTH. As the Itama quadruplets comprising three girls and one boy were being named, the Oladele quadruplets’ two boys and two girls were being born, right next door. Both sets of quadruplets were born by the same medical team, in the same theatre, a week apart on a Wednesday through CS after the same gestational period of 27 weeks. Both couples had each given birth to two children previously and require urgent financial assistance to cope with their new multiple-birth status, amongst other similarities.

Scan result

In a chat with Good Health Weekly, the couple narrated their story. In an emotion laden voice, the man recounted their ordeal. “When we went to the General Hospital at Ile-Epo, Agege and did an ultra sound scan, the result shocked me. I had to tell my wife to go back and recheck the result again so as to be sure. But it was true. She was expecting four babies at once. We later did another scan at Ikeja but it was the same thing.”

Before the quadruplets, the couple already had two children, but last year August to be precise they lost the first born in what was described as unusual circumstances. “My wife and I had initially agreed we were going to have just two children because things are hard. We said we could have more when things got better, but unfortunately, our first born died. It was on the day he died that we decided to have one more child to make up for the loss and maintain the two we had planned to have.”

Happy & sad

Asked what was on his mind now that he was a father of quadruplets, Kola replied: “I’m happy but when I look at the weight of responsibility on my shoulders there are times my mind is sad. I want the best for my children, but how do I take care of them all at once and do so properly? I am not a rich man by any means and my wife is just a housewife. Just this morning alone, I have spent N50,000 and I don’t know how much I’ll need to spend by the time this is all over.”

Kola recalled that at a point, all he could do was to pray. “I was just praying that God should spare my wife’s life and all the children as well. We were first referred to Island Maternity from Ile-Epo General Hospital. There, we were told they could accept only my wife, that there was no guarantee on the lives of the babies there. They advised us to go to LUTH or UCH, Ibadan.”

At that point, Kola recounted that his mind was already made up. “I decided that if LUTH could handle our case, then so be it. I said I’d look for money and take my wife there and that was why we came here last (Tuesday) night.

“LUTH is my saviour. We spent about a month at the General Hospital.. My wife was admitted 17th July and placed on bed rest. We were just buying drugs and other things till yesterday when contractions began and we were refered to Island Maternity where they also came up with their own story.”

Uncertainty

Lying on her hospital bed shortly after being delivered of the babies, Bunmi who hails from Ekiti State, observed that she never in her wildest dreams expected to give birth to quadruplets. “I was not expecting it at all until I had the first scan. When the radiologist gave me the result of the scan, I could not believe my eyes. How could I be expecting four babies? How? Why? What for? It’s a lie. it’s not possible. What am I going to do with four babies? Not on this earth, I declared.”

Bunmi said even the radiologist was not certain about the number of babies. “She was not really sure just how many were there, but was emphatic there was more than one.” It was a confused Bunmi who went back to her doctor at Ile-Epo General Hospital to narrate what the scan had revealed. “But the doctor only heightened my anxiety when he stated that the radiologist could be right. He told me to wait for some time and do another scan after five or six months when the babies might have developed further.

“It was in May when I had the first scan and when I told my husband the result, he was as confused as I was. I had no choice than to warn him to be prepared for anything because no one knew how many babies I was carrying. Even the medical people had said there were four, but they were not sure and so I could not say specifically the exact number myself.”

Bunmi’s doctor later suggested that she tried the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for another scan. “It was an Indian radiologist who attended to me. He just searched around and stated that he was seeing three babies. Then suddenly he announced that he had seen another one lying down below. I was really surprised and full of wonder. Four babies! Ha, God, how come? I was asking myself. I just praying to have a safe delivery.”

Bed rest

Back at Ile-Epo General Hospital, Bunmi showed the second scan result to her doctor and he advised that she be on bedrest.” I was on bed rest for so long, but it got to a point I desired to be referred but I was not referred until yesterday morning when I started feeling contractions and I was taken to Island Maternity.

“The way I lost my first son was a miserable one and I thank God for replenishing me so abundantly. It is even so surprising that it is in the same month of August that I was in sorrow last year, that God has given me joy in a way I was not expecting. I give him all the glory.”