When hundreds of people gather at Lake Phalen for The Great Candy Run, presented by Midwest Fetal Care Center, the Kothe family of six will be among them. This is the first year that the family-friendly event takes place in Minnesota and the Kothes, who recently relocated to Minneapolis from Denver, are looking forward to participating once again in the Fetal Health Foundation (FHF) fundraiser that has special meaning for their family.
Lisa and Brian Kothe’s path to parenthood was far from smooth. In between there would be a miscarriage, multiple insemination procedures and, eventually, in-vitro fertilization. An ultrasound at six and a half weeks showed one sac with one baby and a second sac with identical triplets.
During an ultrasound at 19-1/2 weeks, the three sac-sharing babies started showing signs of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). A week later, Baby A, whom they named Angela, passed away. The Kothe triplets were born at 26 weeks on August 23, 2002. The triplets spent 62 days in the NICU and eventually came home the week before Christmas 2002.
The girls – who recently celebrated their 15th birthday – have been healthy. Before moving to Minneapolis, the Kothes lived in Denver, where they participated in that city’s annual The Great Candy Run.
“It is so hard to go through. I was lucky to have a strong partner,” Lisa said, adding “You have to stay true to your beliefs and stay tough. There is a plan out there.” The family will be running and volunteering at the Minneapolis The Great Candy Run. “We run in memory of Angela.”