Brad Partridge and his wife, Laura, were excited to be having their third, and what they assumed would be their last child when they found out she was pregnant last year. But when Partridge, working at the Ascension System Office in St. Louis, read the text from his wife, “Call me ASAP-All is ok,” he had no idea how drastically his life was about to change.
Laura gave him astonishing news: she was pregnant with triplets – in fact, identical triplets, meaning that they shared one placenta, an extremely rare occurrence.
Non-identical triplets occur in about one in 8,000 pregnancies. And though it is hard to calculate an estimate on the probability of having naturally conceived identical triplets, a conservative estimate would be about one in 70,000. There is a very high risk associated with identical triplets for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, in which the common placenta may be shared unequally and one child may have a share too small to provide the necessary nutrients to grow normally or even survive.
Every week we went to the hospital hoping and praying,” said Brad, Senior Director, System Strategy. “We knew we had to make it to 26 weeks for the risk to be eliminated.
During this time, Brad explained that that his Ascension family was extremely supportive. Brad was at every ultrasound, and helped to care for the two older Partridge children, Stephen, then 3, and Stella, then 1½, particularly when his wife was on bed rest for three and a half weeks.
Not only was Brad supported by his colleagues, but he also felt unbelievably grateful that he was participating at the time in the Ascension Formation Program, a transformative process that invites associates to, within their own faith journey discover paths to greater flourishing as they serve Catholic healthcare's mission of healing. “Having access to that experience — to my Formation colleagues, the tools and practices around spirituality that we learned … it not only helped me in the workplace but it helped me to become a better husband and father,” Brad said. “I can’t imagine going through what my family went through in any other organization.
On March 19, 2013, Laura gave birth to three healthy baby girls: Sonja, Sylvia and Scarlett, at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. The Partridges were now a family of seven.
While Brad and his wife are lucky enough to have the support of grandparents, their church family and friends, as one can imagine, there is a lot of coordination and commitment involved in raising five young children.
Brad has been with Ascension for more than 12 years. He expressed his gratitude for the ability to have such a great work/life balance at the organization.
We talk a lot at Ascension about person-centered care, and I believe this is not just about our patients, but about our associates as well,” Brad said. “I am committed to staying with the organization because I believe strongly in our Mission and our Values. You can feel it when you walk through the doors of Ascension.
Sonja, Sylvia and Scarlett are now 15 months old and are happy and healthy. Stephen and Stella love their baby sisters and enjoy helping out.
Brad pointed out that with new age milestones there are new responsibilities, such as the triplets crawling and walking, but there are also more fun times. The whole family was able to attend the Ascension Associate Picnic in June.
The Partridge family story has been featured in local news outlets and various websites, in addition to Women’s World Magazine, sharing the story of their family and their miracle triplets. With a smile on his face, Brad added, “As hard as it was to imagine a life with them, I certainly can’t imagine a life without them.
