Last May, Chris and Lori Coble lost their three young children in a horrific traffic accident near the family’s California home.
On May 4, Lori, 30, was driving home from on Interstate 5 with her mother, Cynthia Maestri, 60, in the front seat of the family’s minivan. Behind them were Kyle, 5, Emma, 4, and Katie, 2, who had fallen asleep.
Traffic was moving in the center and left lanes, but the right lane was stopped with cars backed up on the exit ramp Lori Coble intended to take.
A semi truck loaded with 20 tons supplies traveling an estimated 70 mph slammed into the back of the Cobel car, killing all three children.
As of today and if all goes well, the Cobles will have two new baby girls and a baby boy next spring.“We both knew we wanted more kids,” Lori said. “We’re parents right now without kids. The kids are what made us so happy in life. We knew that if we were still living that we wanted to have more kids.”
The triplets Lori Coble is carrying — two girls and a boy — were conceived through in vitro fertilization. Out of 10 of Lori Coble’s implanted eggs, three became viable embryos.
The couple regularly sees a counselor to help them deal with the conflicting emotions they are feeling with the death of three children and the promise of three new babies next year.
“That’s helped us sort through the issues about trying to deal with the grief and at the same time thinking about the happiness to come,” Chris Coble told Vieira. “It’s a two-sided coin and we deal with it every day.”
_________________
Then there is the story of Angela Magdaleno, who thought she was done having babies. She was wrong… times four! Three years ago Angela and her husband, Afredo Anzaldo, underwent vitro fertilization and gave birth to triplets.
Then recently she became pregnant with the quadruplets… naturally without any outside help. Magdaleno said she was shocked at the news. “She wanted to run” said her husband
The odds of conceiving quadruplets without fertility drugs are about one in 800,000. Angela and her husband now have 9 children.
Magdaleno, 40, is worried she might be overwhelmed with the work and sometimes struggles with mixed emotions about the future.
“I don’t know if I’m sad or happy,” she said. “I’m happy but, I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it.”