In 1997, Bobby and Kenny McCoy were happy to learn that they would become parents for the second time. They already have one daughter and are anxiously waiting to gift her with a brother or sister. But an incredible surprise awaits them – the video zone shows that Bobbi is pregnant with seven digits.
Doctors are convinced that some of the embryos should be removed because such a pregnancy carries great risks for both the mother and the children. But Bobby and Kenny don’t listen to their doctors. Thus, on November 19, 1997, in Iowa, USA, the first surviving septuplets in the world were born. The smallest weighed only 1 kg, while the heaviest weighed 1.5 kg. Their story is simply amazing and we want to tell it to you.
According to scientists’ calculations, it would be more likely that Bobbi would be hit by an asteroid than have septuagenarians, but that’s exactly what happened.
In January 1996, the first child of 29-year-old Bobbi and 27-year-old Kenny was born – little Mikaela Marie, who is a miracle in herself because her mother was born with a malfunctioning pituitary gland and her body did not produce enough hormones to stimulate ovulation. Having a daughter was a dream come true for Bobby and Kenny, but the family wanted to gift her with at least one more brother or sister.
Because of Bobbi’s problems, her doctors prescribed hormones to stimulate her ovulation. She was warned that the medication could make her pregnant with twins, but Bobbi wasn’t worried because she was prepared to have two more children.
Kenny remembers the day he called his wife to ask how the exam went and what the videotape showed. Bobbi’s voice sounded strange and Kenny directly asked her how many children they were expecting. “Seven,” she replied. The news was a real shock and the two wondered how they would be able to feed so many throats. Bobby remembers that day very clearly and says, “The feeling I got wasn’t exactly ‘Hooray!’ There were so many unknowns.”
Doctors immediately offer the family a “selective reduction” to remove some of the embryos so that the others have a better chance of survival. However, the family is firmly against such an option and decides to leave everything in God’s hands.
According to experts’ calculations, even with triplets, the chance that the children will be born healthy is 50%. Almost half of multiple pregnancy miscarriages occur.
Bobbi was under the care of doctors who deal with risky and difficult pregnancies. They were convinced that something would go wrong. But nothing went wrong. The mother-to-be felt fine, even though her belly alone weighed 7 kg.
During the birth, there were 40 experts in the room ready to help. The seven children were born nine weeks early. They are four boys and three girls – Kenneth, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan, Brandon and Joel. They were born by caesarean section within 6 minutes. At first glance, they seem healthy, but they remain in the hospital for another 2 months.
After that, the children go home, where their parents are waiting for hard work. Every day the children needed 42 bottles of milk and 52 diapers. Bobbi says that many relatives helped her in the beginning, her sister even temporarily interrupted her university education to help her.
After the birth, the family was personally congratulated by President Bill Clinton, and Oprah Winfrey instantly invited them on her show. In addition, strangers and companies from all over the country donate aid to the extended family. The generous gifts included prepaid nanny services, a year’s supply of pasta and diapers, a van, free education, and even a house! Bobby and Kenny couldn’t believe the kindness of the people.
Not everyone supports the couple – at least one in 10 letters of well-wishes criticized Bobby and Kenny for “exploiting their children” or “wasting state resources” for their family. Sometimes strangers came and wanted to see the children and even hold them. However, the family tried to live a normal life despite the constant media attention.
The McCoy children are the first septuplets to survive and grow up, though it is later discovered that some of the children have health issues, which are common with premature births. Alexis and Nathan suffer from cerebral palsy and have limited mobility, but otherwise have no other problems. Over time, Nathan, thanks to his persistence, learned to walk: “I learned to walk because I really wanted to. Over time, I got better and better,” he says in an interview. Alexis needs help walking, but says she doesn’t let that stop her from living life to the fullest.
When the children got a little older, they started helping Bobby: “The girls helped me a lot in the kitchen. They loved to cook and more often than not, dinner became edible! Their father taught the boys that they could not get anything for free in life. There’s always something for them to do, even if it’s just picking up stray leaves from the lawn or washing the car.”
When the children are 10 years old, the family needs 4 loaves of bread, 11 liters of milk and 6 packets of breakfast cereal per week. The family has to buy 2 ovens, 2 microwaves, 2 dishwashers and 2 washing machines. Their backyard has been turned into a garden.
They all grow up to be responsible and diligent children who do well in school. Kelsey, Natalie, Alexis, Nathan and Joel are in university, Kenny is in college, Brandon has joined the army and is getting married very soon. Kelsey is studying public relations, Alexis is studying to become a teacher, Natalie is an athlete, and Joel and Nathan have chosen computer science. Kenneth works in construction.
In this photo, they are all together with their uncle Mikayla, her husband and their little nephew:
As the children begin to leave the nest, Kenny and Bobby decide to move to a smaller apartment, and the large seven-room house for the children is handed over to a charity that helps young mothers.
We can only imagine how many sleepless nights Kenny and Bobby had, how hard it was to feed their family, how much homework they had to check, how hard it was to choose Christmas presents for everyone. But they made it, and today all the seven-figures of the McCoy family are ready to go their separate ways.
