11 months ago
SACRAMENTO - Identical quadruplet girls born at Sutter Memorial in East Sacramento in 2002 were back where they started Wednesday -- to celebrate their seventh birthday.
Melody, Natalie, Audreana and Preana Khamsa, whose births generated intercontinental attention from as far away as Australia, were back at the hospital with their mom Ornsee Wednesday to tour Sutter Memorial's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
At first, the girls were very shy around all the media, quietly saying their names into the microphone and raising their hands in sequence to show their birth order.
But after riding the elevator up to the fourth floor, the Khamsa Quads got excited when they were presented with a 7th birthday cake and greeted by passing doctors and nurses, many who remembered the quads' eventful birth.
"I can't believe it's been seven years," said nurse Betsy Shuey. "I've worked at Sutter Memorial for nine years and I remember when (all four girls) were all in one bed. We always talked about how challenging it would be for their mom...when they all grew up."
Ornsee Khamsa said in the beginning, caring for four babies was so hard that she occassionally "thought I'd give up," she said. "They made me a stronger person."
"Ornsee has worked hard the past seven years, going from a young mother with no high school diploma, no drivers license and no job to a capable young woman who completed her graduation requirements, got a drivers license and graduated from a vocational college to become a certified nurse's assistant," said friend, consultant and co-founder of the Khamsa Quad Fund Nancy Woods.
But in tough economic times, Woods said it's not easy for Khamsa raising quadruplets -- as well as her two sons -- as a single mom.
Woods said Khamsa "has also passed the difficult exam to become a hemodialysis technician, but has had to postpone her schooling until she raises the money to pay for the classes. Ornsee has a strong desire to make a good life for her children. She has the will, but not the means."
To view photojournalist Brandon Atchison's report, click here.
Anyone looking to help the Khamsa family can contact:
Khamsa Quad Fund, CAHP Credit Union, 2483 Manlove Rd., Sacramento, CA 95826, Account #112959-04
News10/KXTV
