Born at 30 Weeks, These Triplets Weren’t Expected to Survive. Now, They Have a Reason to Celebrate

Doctors warned an Alabama mother that her triplets could be born blind and unable to care for themselves, so she was urged to reduce the pregnancy. Now, 22 years later, that same mom watched those odd-defying triplets graduate college together.

“The doctor told us that a triplet’s pregnancy doesn’t usually come to fruition,” Martine Morency told local news channel WAFF 48. “And there was a high likelihood that it would be twins, and so they recommended that we do a fetal reduction, and we said, ‘No.’”

Although doctors warned Morency that carrying three fetuses could pose extreme health risks to both her and the babies, the expectant mother found hope and solace in her Christian faith. “I whispered a prayer, and I said, ‘God, if you give me these three children, I will commit them to Christian education for their entire lives,’” she said.

Morency welcomed her sons, Gabriel and Ethanael and daughter Janelle, into the world at 30 weeks and three days, according to WAFF 48. Over the next two decades, Morency kept her promise to God.

“All throughout our formative years, pre-k, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, they kept us in Adventist education, regardless of how difficult it was, how expensive it was, whether or not it looked like they were going to be able to sustain it financially, they honored their promise to God,” Gabriel Morency said.

When it was time for college, the Morency family “became more acquainted with Oakwood [University] through our church members,” Darwin Morency told the outlet. He added that after they prayed and visited the school, the triplets officially enrolled in Oakwood, a private, historically Black Seventh-day Adventist university.

It was at that Huntsville, Alabama, university where Janelle Morency said she and her brothers found themselves. “When we got to college, even though we were on the same campus, being of different majors, we really got to kind of grow on our own, find our own independence, our own footing, our own identity,” she told WAFF 48.

Gabriel agreed, recalling, “It was interesting seeing my siblings and I branch out and become kind of our own person.”

Almost two decades after the triplets nearly didn’t survive their birth, they all graduated together from college. “My parents made that promise to God. And when we were born, it was up to us to fulfill that promise,” Janelle said.

Oakwood University also celebrated the triplets’ milestone on Instagram, sharing a smiling photo of the graduates earlier this month. “Three times the fun, three times the degrees! We couldn’t be happier for the Morency triplets!,” the school wrote in the caption.

The triplets’ next chapters are just as ambitious. Janelle plans to go into trauma surgery, Ethanael is pursuing a master’s in cybersecurity and Gabriel will attend Johns Hopkins for a master’s in electrical engineering after completing a fellowship with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

“We have watched them grow and mature and do all the things that man said was probably going to be impossible,” the triplet’s mother said. “So we just feel so blessed because we feel that this has been a gift that God has given us.”