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To the Rescue:
Butler parish helps family with triplets who have serious health problems.
(From "The Beacon", Newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson, NJ)
By: Michael Wojcik (Beacon Staff)
BLOOMINGDALE - Six-month-old Zakary Michael Moeller just wouldn't stop crying as he lay on the living room floor of his parents' home here.
Bottles. Pacifiers. Rocking. Nothing worked.
Ditto for his brother, Tyler Phillip, who lay on the carpet next to Zakary. Yet, their brother, Matthew Alan - the third in a cute-as-a-button set of triplets born to Dawn and Michael Moeller - slept soundly in a swing seat at the other end of the room.
On a sunny afternoon, Barbara Stillwaggon cradled Zakary in her arms as she walked him into the Moellers' dining room.
"Sweetheart, what's the matter. Big smile," said Stillwaggon, who belongs to an army of 10 volunteers from nearby St. Anthony of Pauda Parish, Butler, which helps care for the babies in shifts throughout the workweek.
After a moment of silence, Zakary released another wail. "You're supposed to smile, not cry," she said. Then, after quite a while, the baby calmed down, resting in Stillwaggon's loving and compassionate arms.
Although they may seem like a typical handful of babies times three, the Moeller triplets are facing some serious health challenges. Zakary and Tyler - both identical - have Bilateral Periventricular Leukomalacia (Bilateral PVL). They cry, fuss and need more attention than the average baby. Because of Bilateral PVL, doctors say there is a possibility they could develop cerebral palsy.
Making matters worse for the family, Matthew has a non-malignant tumor in his head that will have to be removed with surgery in the future so his eyesight isn't affected.
Making the family's life even more challenging, the triplets' mother, Dawn, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She receives injections that suppress "flare ups" - blurry vision and tingling in her arms and legs.
Since the triplets' birth on April 24, 10 weeks premature, parishioners of St. Anthony have mobilized to help this young family, who are fellow parishioners, by making dinners for the parents and donating baby-care products such as formula, diapers and clothing.
A few months later, after the babies were diagnosed, Dominican Sister Joanne Beirne, of St. Anthony's pastoral associate, assembled teams of volunteers to show up at the Moellers for two hours weekly. In the morning, they feed, dress and give bottles to the babies. In the afternoon, they also bathe them and get them ready for bed.
The volunteers also spend time stretching Zakary and Tyler's arms and legs to smooth out the stiffness in their limbs, caused by Bilateral PVL.
"It's wonderful," Dawn said of the parish's volunteer efforts as she sat on a couch, laying one of the triplets on her folded legs and giving him a bottle. "We are blessed to have all this love and support. We can't do without it."
And to the Moellers, St. Anthony's continues giving. After on October Anointing Mass, a group of parish seniors presented the family with blankets and sweaters they had knitted or crocheted. This week, St. Anthony School students conducted a dress-sown-day fund-raiser. They each brought in a $1 for the triplets to help defray - even if in a small way - the family's mounting medical bills, Sister Beirne said.
"It unites us and makes our call to community even stronger," said Sister Beirne, who noted that other parish ministries have also reached out to the family. Each week at Mass, the parish also prays for the Moellers. "The people have been so good," she said.
Sister Beirne added: "When the Moellers told me about the diagnoses, I told them (on behalf of the parish), ŒYou are not alone. We are here for you.'"
The local community joined St. Anthony's in rallying around the family. In separate fund-raisers, the North Jersey Street Road Association; Our Lady of the Magnificat School, Kinnelon; Butler Tri-Boro Rotary; and the Butler Police have raised somewhere in the vicinity of $8,000 for Moellers.
All this help comes as a bright spot for the Moellers after a difficult few months. Early in their young lives, the triplets spend their days crying and fussing. They wouldn't eat or take formula, leaving them hungry, dehydrated and cranky. For a time, they were not gaining much weight. They also suffered from acid reflux, which is controlled now by medication, their mother said.
"It's overwhelming," said Dawn's husband of three years, Michael, a police officer with the Butler Police Department. They both admitted that they spend much of their time tending to the boys' difficult-to-satisfy needs. "Each baby would get up two times a night. We were up all night - in shifts.
Now, the brothers are eating better, gaining weight and sleeping more soundly. But the Moellers worry because they continue to cry - a lot. Michael thinks it's because they are in distress, although doctors aren't sure why, Sister Beirne said.
To help even further, Sister Beirne enlisted the assistance of diocesan Catholic Charities' Early Intervention Program, through Joseph Duffy, diocesan Secretariat for Catholic Charities executive secretary and Catholic Family & Community Services executive director.
The triplets were born at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson. Doctors made their diagnoses after a battery of tests. It's thought that Bilateral PVL is caused by a reduction in blood flow in the baby in the womb, during delivery or in the first few days of life. Most babies with Bilateral PVL develop signs of cerebral palsy, which can impair intellectual development and cause vision problems. But Dawn also said that the Bilateral PVL might not develop into cerebral palsy. If the boys progress to a certain point, such as walking, they will not regress, although their development might be delayed. "We'll wait and see," she said.
Baptized in St. Anthony's Church in September, the triplets have been making trips to Brewster, N.Y., where they receive treatments for their brain injuries in a hyper baric unit. Still considered "alternative," these $300-per-visit treatments aren't covered by insurance, their father said.
Back in the Moeller's living room on that Friday afternoon, Stillwaggon place the quieted Zakary on the carpet. "I can see it's difficult to have triplets - my goodness," said Stillwaggon, the mother of three and grandmother of one and a former Bloomingdale resident who now lives in Riverdale. "Sister Joanne asked me to help, so I responded. Life is short, and I can contribute in some way," said the St. Anthony parishioner.
Lovingly watching Zakary, Stillwaggon added, "You realize how blessed you are, how grateful you are for what you have."
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