PHOENIX (AP) — A woman died
hours after giving birth to quadruplets at a Phoenix hospital, a close
friend of the family said Saturday.
Erica Morales,
36, never got to hold her newborns before she passed away early Friday
morning after a C-section surgery at Banner Good Samaritan Medical
Center, Nicole Todman said.
"They
were transporting her from the surgery to whatever room, and she was
still unconscious at that point. So, no, she never got to see them,"
Todman said.
Morales was
about seven months into her pregnancy when she delivered three girls and
one boy Thursday, according to Todman. She has been one of the few able
to visit the premature newborns and said they are doing well.
"They're
beautiful," Todman said. "They have tubes in their mouths and their
noses. They've got little monitors and wires all over their body."
The
infants will likely remain hospitalized for the next two months while
doctors help them to get stronger and each reach a goal weight of 5
pounds, Todman said. Currently, they all weigh between just above 2
pounds to just above 3 pounds, she said.
Morales was initially
hospitalized for high blood pressure. Complications ensued before
Morales was taken into surgery, Todman said. She does not know what led
to her passing.
"I don't even care to know," Todman said. "It doesn't matter why. She's still gone."
Hospital
spokeswoman Toni Eberhardt declined comment Saturday, but she released a
statement from the hospital: "Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences
are with the family during this very difficult time."
Morales,
a former real estate agent who more recently worked for the University
of Phoenix, and her husband, Carlos, who works in manufacturing, had
been trying to conceive a baby for two years, Todman said. She said
Morales tried everything from acupuncture to fertility treatments.
Morales suffered a miscarriage before becoming pregnant last June.
Todman,
who has been best friends with Morales since childhood, said Morales
was more nervous about being a new mother than raising four children at
once. Because of her previous miscarriage, Morales was apprehensive
about getting too excited about the babies' arrival. She mainly focused
on doing things correctly throughout her pregnancy such as eating
enough, Todman said.
"Her focus of her pregnancy was to make sure
she did everything to make sure they were healthy so she was able to
bring them into this world — and she did," Todman said.On Friday, Todman started a GoFundMe fundraising website for Carlos Morales and the infants on Friday. The site had received more than $29,000 in donations as of Saturday afternoon.
"I'm
so grateful for the overwhelming support and the wonderful comments,
and so are Carlos and Sandra, Erica's mother. They are so entirely
grateful," Todman said.