Mandeville’s triple miracle turning 30 - Mother still grateful to medical team which saved her babies
Published:Friday | April 27, 2018 | 12:00 AMNadine Wilson-Harris
Almost 30 years ago, she thought she was going to lose her triplets when she started haemorrhaging; but come Friday, Joan Crawford will be celebrating their birthdays.
The birth of the triplets at the Mandeville Public Hospital was highlighted in The Gleaner on May 11, 1988, because at that time the birth of triplets was a rarity in Jamaica. Crawford gave birth to Michael, George and Maureen, who weighed between three and six pounds.
"The experience was frightening because I was not sure how I was going to care for them because I have two hands and two feet and two boobs," Crawford told The Sunday Gleaner last week.
"My daughter was one of the highlights of the pregnancy because I had a boy before and I was hoping for a girl," she said.
Crawford had a four-year-old son before giving birth to the triplets. She said she started haemorrhaging after lifting up her son.
"I thought I was losing them. Every time I think about it, I feel emotional," she recounted.
Crawford and her family migrated to New York in 1997, but she hasn't forgotten how the doctors at Jamaica's Mandeville Hospital did all they could to save her babies.
As she prepares to celebrate the birth of her children another time, Crawford said she remains grateful to her then gynaecologist, Dr Delroy McPherson, and the rest of the staff.
Her triplets are all working in a hospital and now get to assist in helping to save lives. The family tries to visit Jamaica at least once each year.
"We can never leave home, we always visit," said George, who was the second one to be born.
Maureen, who was the last to make her entrance into the world, likes the fact that she has three brothers to look out for her.
"They are like my bodyguards," Maureen said jokingly.
"Being the only girl, I still feel like I am a princess. It was very hard when I was dating guys. They set a high standard, so I wouldn't expect anything but that," added Maureen.