At the age of 43, Karen Derrico from Doubling Down with the Derricos has given birth to 14 children. But the journey to his miraculous parenthood has not been easy for Karen and her husband Deon Derrico. The TLC show’s couple who just delivered their triplets on the latest episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos have found that baby Dawsyn has a hole in her heart.
Doubling Down with the Derricos is everything that a wholesome reality show should have. It has the classic recipe for a TLC-style large family with equal amounts of cuteness and emotions. Las Vegas couple Deon, 49, and his wife Karen aren’t new to being on TV screens. Having been featured on the news for giving birth to their quintuplets a few years ago, them getting their own show was a matter of time. Now, with 11 children and three more on the way the Doubling Down with the Derricos family showcases life’s ups and downs revolving around extreme parenting. Karen’s organized routine for the children aged 2-14 as she readies to give birth to her second set of triplets is being praised by TLC fans. Tuesday’s episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos had Karen going through an unexpected cesarean to deliver premature triplets. And while the Derricos were overjoyed at the arrival of their latest babies, they also received some really sad news.
Doubling Down with the Derricos saw Karen being stressed about the arrival of her triplets. Her earlier set had had a baby Carter who passed away after premature childbirth. So when at 28 weeks, Karen felt contractions, both Deon and the doctors were in panic mode. To make matters worse, the city suffered from a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which added to the Derrico mother’s stress. Deon was summoned to the hospital and Karen went through a two-hour long operation while being heavily medicated. She delivered two girls and one baby boy making the total count of the Derrico kids go up to 14. But the oldest baby daughter Dawsyn was unfortunately born with a birth defect – she had a hole in her heart. The triplet baby was required to go through two surgeries; one to put a stent in her heart and the second to close the hole. “She also needs to gain enough weight,” Deon tells the camera because day-old Dawsyn needed to be stronger for her to be operated upon. Deon is reminded of losing their son and all he can do is pray.
Considering the triplets are born prematurely, the baby could be having Patent Ductus Arteriosus as per Heart.org. The ductus arteriosus is a leftover fetal artery that connects the main body artery (aorta) and the main lung artery (pulmonary artery). If this artery stays open (patent) after birth, it’s called a patent ductus arteriosus. The ductus allows blood to detour away from the lungs before birth. Every baby is born with a ductus arteriosus and after birth, when the opening is no longer needed and it usually narrows and closes within the first few days. In some cases, the ductus doesn’t close after birth. "Failure of the ductus to close is common in premature infants but rare in full-term babies," says the American Heart Association website. In normal cases, the heart’s left side only pumps blood to the body, and the right side only pumps blood to the lungs. When a child has PDA, extra blood gets pumped from the body artery (aorta) into the lung (pulmonary) arteries. And if the PDA happens to be large, the extra blood being pumped into the lung arteries makes the heart and lungs work harder, resulting in the lungs can getting congested.
"If the PDA is large, the child may breathe faster and harder than normal. Infants may have trouble feeding and growing at a normal rate. Symptoms may not occur until several weeks after birth. High pressure may occur in the blood vessels in the lungs because more blood than normal is being pumped there. Over time this may cause permanent damage to the lung blood vessels," the website states. "If the PDA has been closed with surgery, the child may not need any special precautions regarding physical activity and may be able to participate in normal activities without increased risk," it explains in conclusion.
The preview for the next episode of Doubling Down with the Derricos shows Karen returning home with two babies while Dawysn is kept back in the hospital. This revelation left many TLC fans in tears as they prayed for the little Derrico’s speedy recovery. But a little spoiler for them is that baby Dawsyn seems to be doing fine now as she is featured in the promo images of Doubling Down with the Derricos if one observes closely. A post from January 2020 on mother Karen's Instagram profile too, speaks about Dawsyn having returned home, and she mentions that the baby is "doing amazing" in the comments. The prayers have worked and the Derricos will continue being one big and most importantly, happy family!
Doubling Down With the Derricos airs Tuesdays at 10pm EST on TLC.
Source: Heart.org, Karen Derrico