When the time came at 32 weeks, complications were such that Elisa had to be transported by ambulance to yet another hospital. It was there, at Orbis’s partner Santa Rosa Hospital, that she welcomed her three tiny new daughters into the world. She named them Ruth, Sara, and Ester.
“I was lucky that when I gave birth, it was in a hospital with five incubators,” she said about the NICU at Santa Rosa Hospital. “My babies took up three!”
Every day at noon, the doctors gave Elisa a report on the babies’ progress and whether they needed any services or treatments. Since the babies were at risk for ROP, they explained to her what the condition is and recommended a screening procedure that is available at Santa Rosa through an Orbis project.
Dr. Luz Gordillo, pediatric ophthalmologist at Instituto Damos Vision, an Orbis partner, came to the hospital and screened all three triplets the next day.
Baby Ester was fine, with healthy eyes and no indication of ROP. Baby Sara was diagnosed with stage-1 ROP. This is a mild case that often clears up on its own without further treatment. Luckily, that’s what happened with Sara; she was able to heal on her own.
Baby Ruth, however, was in a more advanced stage of ROP. Without prompt and proper treatment, she would likely lose her sight.
“When they first told me there was a condition, we were scared because they mentioned it was a possibility that our child could become blind,” Elisa said, cradling Ruth in her arms.