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Mum's heartbreak at $4 million hospital bill after birth of triplets

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A US mum's response to a TikTok trend about the cost of having children has raised eyebrows and gone viral.</p> <p>The trend initially started with a mum stating she's finally paid off her childbirth bill for her now two-year-old child and asked other US mums how long it took them.</p> <p>Kimberley Guinn's response had people heartbroken.</p> <p>The 42-year-old mum of triplet daughters said that they were born at 31 weeks premature and that she had to spend two weeks in the hospital before they were born as one of them was not receiving enough nutrients.</p> <p>“They spent 62, 68 and 82 days in the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] respectively. And when they came home my final bill was US$1.23 million (AUD$1.6m) each for them, not including my own,” she said.</p> <p>“After insurance, I ended up owing about US$65,000 (AUD $87,000) so I cashed by 401k (pension) so I could pay for that.</p> <p>“And so yeah I’m a widow because my husband was killed and I will never ever, ever, ever be able to retire in my life,” she said.</p> <blockquote style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="6898125772888788230"><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gkm15099" target="_blank" title="@gkm15099">@gkm15099</a> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/stitch" target="_blank" title="stitch">#stitch</a> with @mslilyflowers How old was your baby? Triplet edition <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/triplets" target="_blank" title="triplets">#triplets</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/medicalbills" target="_blank" title="medicalbills">#medicalbills</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/delivery" target="_blank" title="delivery">#delivery</a></p> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6898126064254487301" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Gkm15099">♬ original sound - Gkm15099</a></blockquote> <p>In a series of videos, she clarified that her and her husband Frank didn't qualify for any financial benefits as they were employed at the time of the birth, but explained her case was an outlier.</p> <p>“My case is an outlier in American healthcare and that is because my triplets were transferred from one NICU to another,” Ms Guinn said.</p> <p>“The second NICU took our insurance but the specialists and doctors that bill independently did not.</p> <p>“That is why my bill was so high. My insurance covered everything that was in network fairly decently but they didn’t cover the out of network stuff.”</p> <p>She has since turned down offers for donations and urged others to turn to organisations that can help women in similar situations.</p> <p><em>Photo credits: </em><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/mums-4m-childbirth-bill-highlights-widespread-issue-021129123.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">Yahoo! News</a></em></p> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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Strangers raise $250,000 for pregnant mother of triplets after husband's suicide

<p>More than $250,000 has been raised for a devastated mum-to-be of triplets after her husband passed away in a self-harm incident involving a car.</p> <p>Matt and Ashleigh Conwell had been tightly budgeting to prepare for the arrival of their three babies before Matt took his own life on September 2nd.</p> <p>With the three children due just before Christmas, strangers took it upon themselves to help out the heartbroken family.</p> <p>Nicola Britton, GoFundMe's Australian senior regional manager, said the heartbreaking story resonated with members of the community, The <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queenslanders-help-raise-250k-for-cricket-coachs-pregnant-widow/news-story/0f377cb7074c0cb57db6be05ea36aff0" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">Courier Mail</a> reported. </p> <p>"The more close-knit a community, the quicker donations come in, and this one escalated very quickly due to the circumstances," she said.</p> <p>"Generosity hasn't slowed down this year, and that's really surprised me; at a time of such social and economic uncertainty, people are turning compassion into action and donating is their way to show they are there for someone."</p> <p>Devastated Ashleigh agreed to let her friend Alex Nesevski set up a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/ashleigh-amp-her-beautiful-babies" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">GoFundMe</a> page.</p> <p>"Ashleigh isn't the sort of person who would ask for help, and money can never replace the loss of her husband, but she knows she needs support," Mrs Nesevski previously told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8789691/Ashleigh-Conwell-GoFundMe-raises-250-000-husbands-sudden-suicide.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>Daily Mail Australia</em></a>.</p> <p>She explained the costs of pregnancy, delivery and caring for triplets that would be "challenging for any couple" are especially difficult for a jobless single mother. </p> <p>"They were already stretching every dollar and budgeting tightly for the arrival of their unexpected but so very wanted family ... the financial hardship she now finds herself in is significant," she said.  </p> <p>"She has to see a specialist every two weeks because carrying three babies is a huge physical strain - growing bones and brains."</p> <p>Ashleigh's sister Emily said that her brother in law wasn't thinking clearly when he took his own life.</p> <p>"It was a snap decision, a moment of clouded judgement, and totally out of character," she said.  </p> <p>"This year's been tough for everyone, even the strongest people you thought could get through it ... it just shows suicide doesn't discriminate," she said.  </p> <p>"It wasn't meant to be this way".</p>

Caring

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Family rallies behind pregnant Queensland woman after husband’s tragic death

<p>Family and friends are showing their support to a young woman from Queensland, who is set to give birth to triplets, after the sudden death of her husband.</p> <p>32-year-old Matt Conwell died after being hit by a car in Carindale on September 2.</p> <p>He leaves behind wife Ashleigh, who was inconsolable at the scene of the incident which occurred in Brisbane’s south-east.</p> <p>Speaking to Courier Mail, Ashleigh’s sister, Emily Fallon revealed that family and friends are supporting the soon-to-be mum to “(make) sure Ashleigh is not alone now and not alone in the future”.</p> <p>“There is a tribe behind her, and there is going to be a village that raises these babies.</p> <p>“The outpouring of support is a testament to the kind of person Matt was – very non-judgemental, very genuine and caring, an unassuming, quiet person who had time for everyone.”</p> <p>Fallon told the paper that the family’s loss “still doesn’t seem real”, and her sister had been in “severe shock for the first few days”.</p> <p>A family friend of the couple, Alexandra Nesevski, set up a GoFundMe page to “help Ashleigh bring her and Matt’s little trio into the world and provide a future for them.”</p> <p>Nesevski says Ashleigh faces significant financial implications as she endures her world being “torn apart emotionally”.</p> <p>Both she and Conwell were hit hard when the pandemic began.</p> <p>“They were already stretching every dollar and budgeting tightly for the arrival of their unexpected but so very wanted ‘instant’ family,” Nesevski said.</p> <p>“Losing Matt has placed an almost overwhelming burden on Ashleigh.”</p> <p>At the time of publication, more than $140,000 had been raised for Ashleigh.</p>

Relationships

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Sisters believed to be Australia’s oldest living triplets turn 90

<p><span>The Melbourne sisters thought to be the oldest living triplets in Australia celebrated their 90<sup>th</sup> birthday on Saturday.</span></p> <p><span>Helen, Judy and Barbara Houlihan were born ten weeks premature on November 23, 1929. The triplets said their parents, Ivy and Tom Houlihan, had been expecting to have twins and were “shocked” to have three babies.</span></p> <p><span>At the time of their birth, the family already had two young girls aged four years old and 18 months old respectively.</span></p> <p><span>“We’ve had a wonderful life, we really have,” Helen said.</span></p> <p><span>“We giggled our way through everything,” Barbara added.</span></p> <p><span>The sisters became known as <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/sisters-believed-to-be-australias-oldest-living-triplets-turn-90/ar-BBXcLwr?li=AAgfLCP" target="_blank">the Houlihan triplets</a>, a moniker that stuck even after they got married – Helen to John Smith, Barbara to Bill Dodd and Judy to Peter Beech.</span></p> <p><span>Judy’s daughter Gillian Beech said her mother and aunts still play golf and bridge together. “They don’t get out on the course now as much as they would like to but spend a lot of there time there doing lunches and playing bridge with their friends,” Beech said.</span></p> <p><span>“They love a punt on the horses and love their daily VB.”</span></p> <p><span>The three of them now have 35 offspring between them, including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.</span></p> <p><span>Records for age are self-reported. Other records show that 79-year-old Florence, Dorothy and Betsy Audino are thought to be Australia’s oldest living identical triplets.</span></p>

Retirement Life

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Shocking revelation: Woman’s “kidney infection” turns out to be triplets

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman got the shock of her life when she was informed about what she thought was supposed to be a kidney infection was actually the side effects of a pregnancy - to triplets!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dannette Giltz, from the US state of South Dakota, made headlines around the world for giving birth to healthy triplets on August 10, although she initially thought she had kidney stones. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The mother of three said she began to have pain when she was around 34 weeks pregnant. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she went to the hospital she was quickly informed the pains she felt meant she was actually in labor.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her husband Austin was holding two babies when doctors asked for another blanket. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"His reaction is like, ‘excuse me, put it back, no, I was told I have twins, I'm not doing triplets’,” Ms Glitz told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">KOTA-TV</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She's like, ‘no, there's three babies in here, there's triplets’.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The story went viral on social media, with many people taking to the comments to humorously “apologise” for the three children. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am sure she is thrilled… not,” one person wrote. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another added “She wanted the kidney stones instead!”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The triplets were all born within four minutes of each other. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each weighed in at around 1.8 kilograms and were named Blaze, Gypsy and Nikki. </span></p>

Caring

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Dad’s genius way to stop triplets fighting in the car

<p>For most parents, just having one child in the back seat can be enough to cause stress on the roads, but a father in the US has three times the trouble thanks to triplets Stella, Xavier and Jude. Stay-at-home dad Jake White from Ohio has come up with an ingenious trick to prevent the three kids fighting in the back seat, and it’s so simple, you’ll wonder why no one thought of it before.</p> <p>Jake had had enough of backseat bickering, so he developed two barriers to separate the three kids – and it worked a treat.</p> <p><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/28583/14448805_10154571522384771_7745262788849398145_n_500x375.jpg" alt="backseat parenting hack" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>“No more car fighting,” the dad captioned the photo. “The guys at the drive-thru said it was genius. A day in the life of triplets.”</p> <p>Speaking to <a href="http://www.today.com/parents/driving-was-so-peaceful-dad-triplets-has-genius-fix-backseat-t103582" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">TODAY Parents</span></strong></a>, Jake said he was inspired to find a solution after the triplets began trying to take each other’s snacks. “The dividers are foam core, just strong enough to keep the kids separated,” he explained. “The kids aren’t strong enough to break it from a seated position yet. The kids are very well behaved and I take them everywhere, so it was a natural solution to keep the peace.</p> <p>“I really had no idea this was viral material, but now that I look at the combination of components in the photo and the caption, it makes sense why it went viral. Parents get it when it comes to problem solving.”</p> <p>Very clever! Tell us in the comments below, did you ever come up with any smart parenting tricks when your kids were growing up?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/mum-with-ms-shares-beautiful-dance-with-son-at-wedding/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Mum with MS shares beautiful dance with son at wedding</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/why-prince-george-wears-shorts/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Surprising reason Prince George always wears shorts</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/10/babys-bouffant-hair-goes-viral/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Baby wins hearts with adorably bouffant hair</strong></em></span></a></p>

News

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After mum did it, dad tries dressing his three triplets and toddler

<p>Earlier this month, mother of four Corrie-Lynn Whyte created a video showcasing the struggle of dressing her eight-month-old triplets and two-year-old daughter for bedtime. The video went viral, and now the kids are back, but this time dad’s in charge.</p> <p>In the spirit of friendly spousal competition, Dan Gibson decided to see how fast he could manage buttoning, snapping, and zipping to get his children ready for bed.</p> <p>So who won in the end? It was a close one, but Dad did end up beating Mum by around 13 seconds. However, seeing how they’ve both mastered the art of dressing their four kids, it’s safe to say they are both winners, and doing a great job. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/sacrifices-grandparents-make-study/">The many things grandparents sacrifice for their family</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/life-advice-from-over60-community/">20 crucial pieces of advice from you, the Over60 Community</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/best-advice-ever-received-video/">People aged 5 to 105 reveal the best advice they’ve ever received</a></em></strong></span></p>

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