After Fertility Struggle, ETSU Health Patient Becomes Mom of Three
For those struggling with infertility, a new mother offers words of encouragement: Never give up hope.
Health conditions left Rebekah Isaacs, of Boone, North Carolina, with less than a
1% chance of conceiving.
Thanks to the help of a team of ETSU Health specialists, Rebekah and Justin Isaacs
are the proud parents of a rare blessing — triplets.
Every step of their journey – from fertility treatments through pregnancy care, delivery
and then neonatal care for her triplets – ETSU Health providers guided the Isaacs
to a happy, healthy future together as a new family. The Isaacs came to ETSU Health
Fertility on the advice of an acquaintance who was a patient of the office and who
had a child after years of infertility. Conceiving triplets “was an answered prayer
times three,” Rebekah said.
Triplets Adah, Caroline and Stetson
The Isaacs received prenatal care with Dr. Aleksandr Fuks, a maternal fetal medicine
specialist at ETSU Health OB/GYN.
“Right from the start, he was so positive,” Rebekah said. “When I first found out
I was carrying triplets, I called my local OB/GYN office to set up an appointment.
That’s when they laughed at me and said, ‘We don’t accept triplets.’ I was nervous
enough, and to hear that was scary! Dr. Fuks was never worried. I’m so thankful for
his high-risk clinic.”
ETSU Health’s High-Risk Obstetrics Clinic provides all aspects of prenatal care, including
laboratory tests, nutritional counseling, and emotional and psychological support
in preparation for expanding families. Special testing includes serial ultrasounds,
screening for chromosomal abnormalities, and biophysical profiles and doppler evaluations.
Patients receive care from Dr. Fuks, clinic residents, Nurse Practitioner Jacqueline
Heflin, and sonographers Stephanie Keith, Nikki Watson, Heather Carrier, and Rochelle
Morey.
“All of our sonographers became very familiar with Rebekah and did absolutely everything
that could possibly be done to make sure that she had her appointments at the most
convenient times,” Dr. Fuks said. “It was this close monitoring that allowed us to
pick up a difference in growth in one of the triplets, monitor the pregnancy even
more closely, and perform a timely delivery.”
At 31 weeks and six days, the Isaacs birthed two daughters, Adah and Caroline, and
a son, Stetson. Adah and Stetson were both 2 lbs and 11 oz, while Caroline was 3 lbs
and 4 oz., requiring time to grow and the expertise of ETSU Health’s neonatologists
at Niswonger Children’s Hospital.
Today, the Isaacs are happy to report that all three babies are doing well.
“They are hitting all the milestones they should and growing like weeds!” Rebekah
said. “I love watching their personalities come out more and more every day. They
are really good babies, too. I couldn’t be more thankful God chose me to be their
mother!
“I’m so thankful that I was able to receive care from ETSU Health,” she added. “I
believe everything happens for a reason, and that it was meant for me to receive care
from start to finish with ETSU.”
With 30 clinical sites and more than 300 health care providers, ETSU Health is on
the front lines of efforts to improve the health of Northeast Tennessee by offering
leading-edge health care in dozens of specialties.
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ETSU Health is the outward-facing brand that includes the pursuits of ETSU’s thriving
Academic Health Science Center and the clinical components of ETSU Physicians & Associates
and Northeast Tennessee Community Health Centers Inc. For more, visit ETSUHealth.org.
East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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