Seven-year-old Morgan Robertson calls her triplet siblings “my boys” in quite a mother-like fashion. When they’re being cooperative, that is.
“When she’s mad, it’s ‘the brothers,’” her mother, Kelly Robertson, explained.
Morgan is the boss, mom said, and has been since the three were in the Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley NICU nearly eight years ago after being born 11 weeks premature.
“The nurses called it,” she said. “She was sassy. Even back then.”
The Robertson triplets at 1 month old with mom and dad, Matt and Kelly Robertson.
Kelly Robertson first shared her family’s story during the Miracles and Promises Radiothon a few years after Beeghly campus in Boardman opened in 2008. Now as the campus marks its 10-year anniversary in 2018 we’re revisiting the triplets to learn what they’ve been up to.
This year’s Radiothon takes place Sept. 27-28 from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day, and will be broadcast live on Mix 98.9 and 570 WKBN from the hospital’s Beeghly campus in Boardman.
Michael, Morgan and Mathew will start second grade in the fall at Springfield Twp. Elementary. This past school year was the first time they’ve been split up in separate classes, and mom says they loved it.
“They’re all super smart and they just love school,” she said. In a subject where one might struggle, the others help and encourage them, she said.
They all play on the same soccer team in the fall. Michael and Morgan also take karate, while Mathew is a baseball guy.
Taking a moment to reflect on how far they’ve come, Kelly noted how time goes way too fast.
“When you have babies in the NICU, at that moment you aren’t thinking that they’ll get to a point where they’re walking, reading to me and playing sports,” she said. “Every day you’re just hoping. You look at them being so tiny and with all the monitors, and you never picture them getting chubby. You’re feeding them in milliliters even; not ounces.
“I used to have to navigate how to fit the wagon or the stroller in my trunk, but now I have baseball equipment and karate equipment in there.”
Michael, Morgan and Mathew Robertson at the 2016 Miracles and Promises Radiothon
The Robertson’s story is one of hope. Kelly says they’ve had their share of ER visits through the years, and while Michael, the middle triplet, had a severe brain bleed at birth that led to a mild form of cerebral palsy, today he’s running and jumping with the rest of the kids. And he’s a straight-A student.
Kelly and her husband have been so impressed with the care their triplets received in the NICU and going forward at Akron Children’s that Kelly started volunteering as a NICU parent mentor and serving on the hospital’s parent advisory committee. And in 2014 she started working full-time in the NICU.
“I started working here because of the way they treated my family,” she said. “The early care we received in the NICU set us up for success as healthy children as they got older.
“It made me feel like they were taking care of me, as well. It’s so family oriented here. They really involve you in the care. We always know we’re going to get the best care, from the emergency department to the pediatricians, therapy, you name it.”
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