Mother's heart stops while delivering triplets

Oneonta, Ala. — An Oneonta, Alabama, woman welcomed identical triplets in a 1 in 20 million occurrence Feb. 20.

The joyous, rare moment was shadowed by the mother, Amber Ertley, nearly losing her life.

Ertley's heart stopped twice and she went into cardiac arrest twice.

Her husband, Levi Nelson, said after Ertley delivered the first two babies by cesarean section at 34 weeks, she appeared to have a seizure as the third baby was delivered.

"It was the scariest moment of my life," Nelson told AL.com. "I was afraid I was going to be bebopping home with three new babies and no momma."

For the most part, Ertley, 24,  had a healthy pregnancy.

"Up until she was in the hospital, she was up washing clothes and carrying (our 2-year-old daughter)," Nelson said.

Nelson heard hospital staff say "code blue" and rush into the room.

Six hours later, Nelson was able to visit Ertley, who was hooked up to a breathing tube.

Nelson said she lost a lot of blood.

Her recovery was difficult.

Two days after delivering the triplets, she lost more blood. She did not leave AB Women & Infants Center until March.

Days after her first discharge, she was bleeding again and returned to the hospital. Her last discharge was March 7.

But the triplets,  Norah, Rylan and Remi, have been doing well. They needed no IV fluids or oxygen when they were born and they each weighed over 4 pounds.

Although Norah had to stay in the hospital a bit longer for a low heart rate, she is doing fine.

The arrival of the three girls grew the family from four to seven. Nelson and Ertley already had two girls, 5-year-old Lilly and 2-year-old Josey.

Nelson said he hopes to move into a house with enough bedrooms for each of the girls, but for now he is happy his family is doing well.

"We say every night, 'We don't have much, but man are we blessed with kids and the outpouring of love and support from friends and even strangers.'"

The support from strangers has extended to a GoFundMe page set up by Ashley Jones. Strangers have donated over $9,000 towards its $25,000 goal.

Funds will go toward Ertley's recovery and care for her family.

Cox Media Group