Quadruplets.

Two sets of identical twins.

A 1 in 70 million chance of this happening with a spontaneous pregnancy.

Meet the Carmack family (minus older sister, Emily). From left to right, you have Evelyn Ann, David Michael, Daniel Joseph, and Adeline Grace (also their birth order). And of course, mom and dad (Hannah and Michael). For those curious, Evelyn was baby A, Adeline was baby B, David was baby C, and Daniel was baby D.

Evelyn is identical to Adeline, and David is identical to Daniel. And then, they are fraternal to each other, the boys and girls. Yes, they were in fact a spontaneous pregnancy, and yes, there was in fact a 1 in 70 million chance of them existing. 

A story like this doesn’t come around often, but that’s the thing - this is so much more than a simple story. The Carmacks are a real family experiencing four, very real miracles, on a scary and sometimes uncertain journey. 

It’s a miracle all four babies are here. Hannah had a rough pregnancy, and the quadruplets were delivered at just 27 weeks and 3 days. 

Hannah and Michael found out they were pregnant in September of last year. The pregnancy was completely unexpected, and definitely not in their plans at the time. No infertility treatments, “simply” a huge surprise. Hannah was preparing to go on a mission trip to South Africa in November, so becoming pregnant was not ideal. 

The couple had their first ultrasound on October 31, 2022, where they learned that their family of three would be growing to a family of SEVEN. 

Fear and anxiety crept its way into their lives as they began to try and figure out what they would do. 

How would they go from one child to five? 

Why would the Lord choose them to have four, little humans, all at once?

Michael works in ministry, and Hannah works in veterinary medicine. The couple spends their days serving others and living a humble life. While their faith was strong, it is easy to see how any parents would be overwhelmed by the news that was unexpectedly dropped in their lap.

A week after their first ultrasound, the Carmacks had their first high risk appointment at UAB where they were told they had two sets of identical babies. 

A 1 in 70 million chance of this happening with a spontaneous pregnancy. 

“Again, we were so shocked. The Lord hand picked us to raise these babies. As we were talking to the doctor that day, we went over all the risks, and they told us that each baby had a 50% chance of surviving. They offered to terminate some of them, so that the others would have a better chance of coming to term. We told them that we wouldn’t terminate them. They were a gift given to us.” 

That day, Hannah felt and knew that the quadruplets were meant to do something great one day. What she didn’t know that day, was that the enemy had a huge plan to try to take the babies away from them. She found out months later when they were hit with many trials.

“I was on my way home from work one night,” Hannah shared, “and I was listening to ‘Here Again’ by Elevation Worship. The Lord began to minister to me about my babies. The spirit was so strong in the car that I had to pull over. I couldn’t quit crying. This wasn’t a cute, little cry - it was an ugly one. I was so scared that something was going to happen to our miracle babies. 

The Lord met me right where I was and told me that all of them would be ok. I’ll never forget that night. It was the first time I began to fall in love with these babies. I never wanted a big family, but I did now.

I came home, woke Michael up, and I told him about my encounter with the Lord. He told me that while we were at UAB, the Lord told him the same exact thing.” 

From that moment on, they were determined to do whatever it took to bring all of the babies to term.

Months passed, and the pregnancy was going great. However, their physicians discovered there was a fluid difference in the girls’ sac. Baby A had twice as much fluid as Baby B. The physician shared that they thought the girls had TTTS, or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. This is where one twin, the donor twin (Baby B), gives away more blood than it receives in return and runs the risk of malnourishment and organ failure. The recipient twin (Baby A), receives too much blood and is susceptible to overwork of the heart and other cardiac complications. 

Hannah and Michael were devastated. 

There was nothing Hannah could do, but pray for protection over her girls. 

They were closely monitored twice a week for about a month. Hannah was 19 weeks pregnant when the doctors decided to send them to Houston, TX for a procedure to separate the twins in the placenta, in hopes that Baby B (Adeline) would have a better chance of survival. 

When they arrived in Houston, the doctor there decided that the fluid difference wasn’t as big of a difference as they would like it to be. The procedure was too much of a risk, because there were four babies, not just two. 

Emotionally drained, the Carmacks traveled back home to be monitored, once again. They had a solution to possibly fix what was happening, and it was so disappointing to be told the best doctor in the U.S. didn’t want to go through with the surgery. 

“Once again, the Lord reminded me that ALL my babies would be ok. At the end of the day, I had to hold onto that promise, because from the outside looking in, our situation looked horrible, and our chances of all of them surviving were getting lower.”

The Carmacks continued going to UAB twice a week and were hit with the news that their sweet, little Baby B (Adeline), once again, wasn’t doing well. Her fluid was still low, and she was smaller than her sister and brothers. Her umbilical cord dopplers were also getting worse. The Carmacks were now facing the possibility of a stillbirth. 

They told their doctor that they wanted to do whatever it took to have all four of them, not just three. They kept pushing. 

Hannah and Michael didn’t know it, but they were facing a long period of waiting. One day, their care team would say everyone was stable. They would go in two days later, and the doctors would say, “Well, we’re going to monitor you. If we see any reverse flow, you’re going to either be hospitalized or deliver.” 

As each week went by, they began to celebrate the small victories they were given. 

If they could get to 24 weeks, they all would be viable. 

That was their first goal. Get to that point, and maybe, just maybe, they would have all of them here safely. 

“A lot of people probably thought we were crazy, because we would post updates on the babies, and we would be so excited every time I got to another week. But they didn’t know was the mental toll it took on us, especially me,” shared Hannah. “We were in the waiting. And it was long.

The unknown is always scary, right? 

Sometimes, I questioned if I heard the Lord correctly. I honestly felt like I was David, crying out to the Lord. Many times I would lay in my living room and cry until I couldn’t cry anymore, because I just didn’t understand why this was happening to us, to me? I would talk to the Lord, and say, ‘I know you said that they would all be ok, but it doesn’t seem like it.’ I was in the valley.

It eventually got to the point that I wasn’t excited about going and seeing the babies. I dreaded it, because I didn’t want to hear any more bad news.”

The Carmacks finally made it to week 27. 

This was a huge week for them. 

They knew that if the babies came this week that maybe, just maybe, their lungs would be developed. A couple weeks prior, Hannah had been given two rounds of steroids to help the babies’ lungs develop. 

On March 13, 2023, they walked into their appointment and were told that Adeline had more reverse flow than she normally had. 

Monday, March 13th was the day Hannah would be hospitalized. 

“The plan was for me to get two more rounds of steroids 24 hours apart from each other, monitor the babies, and deliver the babies that Wednesday or on Monday of the following week.

The Lord had other plans. 

He orchestrated such a strategic plan for me and my babies.” 

Hannah began to have contractions around 10:00 pm that night. The contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. The doctor said the nurses all thought it was because Hannah hadn’t eaten in 12 hours, so they gave her some “sugar water” through her IV and some pain medicine to try to stop them. The contractions eventually calmed down, until they spiked back up around midnight. 

The doctor checked to see if Hannah had dilated at all, and she had - she was at 2 centimeters. Her doctor wasn’t too worried at the time, but said if Hannah kept dilating, she would need to go in for a c-section. 

At that moment, Hannah knew she wasn’t going to make it to Wednesday. 

Around 3:30 am, Hannah’s doctor came rushing in, because she noticed on the monitor that Baby A’s and Baby C’s dopplers were saying the same thing. She was afraid that Baby A (Evelyn) had moved down into the birth canal. The doctor checked Hannah and found she had progressed to 4 centimeters and 75% effaced. 

She said, “Hannah, I’m sorry, but we need to do an emergency c-section. You have enough time for an epidural, but we need to do this now!” 

Hannah was then prepped and sent to the OR. 

On March 14th, at 27 weeks and 3 days, the Carmack quadruplets were delivered. 

“Of course I was nervous and scared at this point. I didn’t know how any of the babies were doing, and I was about to be a new mother, once again. When they finally laid me on my back after my epidural, I couldn’t feel anything, and I instantly felt like I couldn’t breathe. I tapped my nurse that had been with me the whole time, and mouthed the words ‘I can’t breathe.’ 

I was so aware of what was happening all around me, but I couldn’t talk or move. I felt like I was suffocating. It was the most scary moment in my entire life. I kept thinking I was going to die on this table. 

They put an oxygen mask on me, and as I was trying to breathe, I heard one of my babies crying - a sound I thought I would never hear. 

I don’t know how much time passed before Michael was next to me, but I do know that during that scary time, the Lord let me hear the cries of three of my babies. 

When I was able to talk again, I immediately asked Michael how Adeline was. He said she was great, but later I found out that she was that fourth cry that I didn’t hear. When Adeline was delivered, her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. She came out not moving or crying.”

While the doctors and nurses worked on the babies, Michael had the opportunity to go back and pray over each of the babies. 

As Hannah was getting stitched up, the head of the neonatal unit came in and told the Carmacks that all the babies were all doing great, including little Miss Adeline. In a few minutes, he would bring by each of the babies to show them to Hannah. 

On March 14th, all four of their miracle babies were alive. 

Hannah will be quick to tell you that is was only because of the Lord’s grace and mercy that they were all here and that they were all healthy.

The Carmack Quads, as we like to call them at RMG, have since spent all their time in the NICU.

"NICU days aren’t always easy. There have been a lot of ups and downs with the babies, but we know that we have a Heavenly Father watching over each one of them. We truly believe that these babies are meant to do something great in this world, and that was why the enemy tried to take them away from us from the very beginning. Whatever that great thing is, I have no idea - I just know they are something so special."

L to R: Evelyn, David, Daniel, and Adeline

We would agree - they are absolutely special! We are honored to serve the Carmacks, providing them with a fully-furnished apartment, while their miracle quadruplets continue to grow and gain strength in the NICU. Because of the generosity of our Neighborhood, they are able to stay close to the hospital for just $10 a night. Their RMG apartment provides them with a quiet space of their own, where their oldest daughter can also visit.

Big sister Emily meeting one of her brothers.

Hannah and Michael are very thankful for their support system who has surrounded them throughout their pregnancy, delivery, and now, in the NICU. 

The world is certainly curious for a peek at their 1 in 70 million chance miracles, but these very real miracle babies are still working on developing and gaining strength. What Hannah and Michael have gone through, and are continuing to go through, has not been easy. They have had to trust the Lord’s plan, not an easy feat. The Carmacks are new parents of a growing family, which also includes a 7-year-old daughter. They are learning a new balance of siblings, multiples, jobs, and the added complication of their babies being in the NICU with much progress to be made.

“I can’t always say that it feels real to me that I’m a mother of four quadruplet babies; but when I get to hold all of them at the same time, it becomes very real that I am not dreaming, but that this is real life, and it’s simply extraordinary.”

As of now, all of the babies are off of C-Pap. Evelyn, Daniel, and David have graduated to cribs. Adeline is a little fighter who is working on moving to a crib like her siblings. 

Thank you, Hannah and Michael, for sharing your story. Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your heart as a mother. We are honored to serve your family, and we can’t wait to see all the great things those miracle babies do. 

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

*Photos and story provided by Hannah Carmack and are not to be redistributed without the permission of Hannah and Michael Carmack.