With Mother’s Day around the corner, Army mom Nancy Auclair expects a big surprise, though nothing could compare to the four energetic bundles of joy she and husband Maj. Chris Auclair received four years ago on their wedding anniversary, Aug. 2, 2006.
The Auclairs of Richmond Hill are the parents of four-year-old quadruplet boys.
Nancy Auclair explained her sons are actually two sets of identical twin – Ethan and Brayden are identical as are Joshua and Connor.
The couple had gone through in vitro fertilization and only two eggs of six were viable, splitting into four babies after being transferred, she explained.
Auclair said her sons were born when she was 29 weeks pregnant.
“They were viable at 24 weeks. My doctors’ long-term goal for me was 32 weeks,” she said. “Ethan and Brayden were in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for eight weeks, Joshua came home at nine weeks, and Connor was in the NICU for 16 weeks.”
Though their sons are normal, active little boys, there are challenges, the Auclairs said.
“Brayden has moderate sensorineural bilateral hearing loss, and Connor has a profound sensorineural bilateral loss and was fitted with cochlear implants,” Nancy Auclair explained.
The couple called on their strong network of family and friends when their son Connor was diagnosed with cancer at 8 months old.
“We had just gotten back to NTC when he received his diagnosis,” Auclair recalled. “He had hepatoblastoma which is a rare liver cancer.”
The quadruplets’ mother said other people who aren’t in the military can sympathize with military spouses but can’t really understand their way of life unless they live it. It’s the same with cancer, she said.
“Until you have lived it, I don’t think people truly understand what its like,” Auclair said. “Connor went through four rounds of chemo and had half his liver and his gall bladder removed. We almost lost Connor after the liver resection. He coded three times after the surgery.”
One year later, Connor’s cancer metastasized to his left lung. The then-toddler’s doctors removed a portion of the lung and he was given another round of chemotherapy, Auclair said. Her son is now in remission, she said.
“My life is hard but I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Auclair said. “I feel like I’m the luckiest mom on the planet, but then again I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. You have good days and bad days.
“This is our life – yes, it’s tough. But we love it, and we wanted nothing more than to be parents and God gave us these wonderful little beings.”
For more, pick up a copy of the May 4 edition of the News.