Military wife Kayla Gaytan, 29, was in remission from Hodgkin's lymphoma when she found out she was pregnant. Doctors told her and husband Sgt. Charles Gaytan they will be having quadruplets but then they would soon hear the bad news: the cancer was back and she would have to get chemotherapy immediately.
The Gaytans didn't expect the pregnancy because after Kayla's five months of chemotherapy in 2016, doctors advised the couple they might not be able to conceive anymore, Fox 8 Cleveland reports. But one month into remission, Kayla learned she was pregnant.
"I called my husband to tell him and he couldn't believe it," Kayla told People. "He thought he had misheard me."
On her 28th week of pregnancy, doctors advised Kayla to have the babies delivered earlier because she will need to get started with chemotherapy. The decision mattered because the mom's life was on the line. If she gets the treatment as soon as possible, she would have "a 50 percent chance of being here within the next five years," the mom said.
On her 30th week, Kayla had the C-section and welcomed Lillian, Victoria, Charles, and Matthew according to Good Housekeeping. The quadruplets, who were born on Dec. 30, are still receiving more care in the NICU until they are strong and well enough to be brought home. The Gaytans have two other children, Ethan, 11, and Harper, 2.
Last September, Charles set up a GoFundMe page for the medical costs of what would be 16 weeks of chemotherapy for Kayla, as well as the cost of raising quadruplets and two other kids. Anonymous donors responded with kindness and the money started pouring in.
From the original goal of raising $5,000, kind strangers helped the Gaytans raise $1,146,300 as of press time. The family cannot believe the support they received from the public. "From the bottom of our hearts our family has truly been humbled and amazed by the kindness of people," Kayla said.
