The Drozdowicz quadruplets were a bit of a surprise in 1978 - their parents were expecting triplets.
Holly Streng, a registered nurse and one of four quadruplets born 40 years ago today, still shares her unusual story of being born with three siblings on the same day.
“People are still amazed when I tell them my story,” said Streng, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. “Back then, it was not as easy to have quads as it is now.”
On April 4, 1978, Dr. Martin and Marilyn Drozdowicz surprised everyone when they became parents of four babies — Holly, Jay, Erin and Joel.
Holly arrived first at 9:01 a.m., then Jay at 9:02 and then Erin at 9:03. Joel, the smallest baby weighing 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and who wasn’t detected in the ultrasound, was the surprise kid at 9:04 a.m.
“Mom thought she was having triplets,” Jay said. “Joel was hiding in the womb.”
LIFE FOR QUADS DIFFERENT
The couple’s first child — Kristen — was born three years before the quadruplets. She’ll mark her 43rd birthday on April 25.
The quadruplets said growing up together with an older sister has held a few more surprises than normal. And a little more attention, too.
“A lot of people would say to me, ‘You’re one of the quadruplets’ aren’t you?” Holly recalled. “(But) I think it’s so wonderful to have siblings. There are so many of us, so you’re never alone. Life would be lonely without them.”
Now, although Holly lives in Columbus, the other three live near one another. Erin and Joel live in Beverly Hills and Jay lives in Royal Oak.
Martin recalls the Cesarean section his wife had at Toledo Hospital in the spring of 1978, where they expected triplets. But on the morning of delivery, the nurse told them “there is one in the birth canal and three in breach position” about an hour before procedure.
“It was no April Fool’s joke,” he said.
There were teams of neonatal nurses and respiratory therapists to care for each baby. Each baby was put on a ventilator initially to breathe easier.
“They were pretty sick kids at first and had to be placed under lights,” he said. “All of them could have died because their lungs and livers weren’t fully developed. Joel had a collapsed lung and all of them had IVs in their heads. The first one didn’t come home until eight weeks after. Joel came home in 10 weeks.”
Marilyn remained in the hospital for 10 days after the birth.
SIBLINGS BONDED AS FAMILY
The siblings talk to each other quite often, said Jay, who lives in Royal Oak and who owns his own cement company. He was the largest of the four at birth — 3 pounds, four ounces. He and two of his siblings live within 10 minutes of each other.
“We’re super close,” he said. “Each of us has been there for each other. Over the years, we’ve always spent time together and helped each other in a bind with any type of problem.”
He likes the puzzled looks when people learn about him being a quad.
“They’re shell shocked and don’t believe it,” he said. “They’ll say seriously? I have to get on Facebook and show them a pic.”
He shaved his head when he was 22 and is still bald.
“I don’t think we look alike,” he said. “But my brother and I have some similarities. When we have hats on, we look similar.”
Erin became a reading specialist and married Marc Michalak, son of Richard and Cindy Michalak of Monroe. Together, the couple has raised two children — Olivia, 8, and Lincoln, 5.
Erin has taught at an elementary school for 15 years and loves telling people about her unusual birth.
“It is so nice to have siblings that turned out to be best friends and who live close to each other,” she said. “We are very close. We are all the same age, so we have always done things at the same time, like get our driver’s licenses and go to college. When it’s time for another birthday, it’s not just my birthday — it’s all our birthdays.”
PARENTING QUADS NOT EASY
The mother of two children — Cayden, 3, and Lexi, 1 — Holly marvels at how her parents handled raising four new children all at once.
“I look back and I think, ‘How did they do this?” she said. “I don’t complain. (When life gets hectic raising two children), I just bite my lip because it could be way worse.”
Both of the brothers are single. As a general manager for Brio Tuscan Grill for the past 17 years, Joel has moved from city to city, including stops in Alabama, Florida and Ohio. Two years ago, he finally moved back to Michigan.
“I always wanted to get back” to where he grew up, he said. “I always came home on my vacation. Now I can see them all the time.”
When people he meets learn about his shared birth, they comment about it.
“They are so amazed by it. It’s such a unique thing,” he said. “I tell them it’s always great to have someone to lean on. And every one of us has found their niche in life.”
He enjoys visiting with his nieces and nephews.
Erin said she feels fortunate to have a close family.
“We’ve got all of us,” she said.
FAMILY STILL GETS TOGETHER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Martin worked as a dentist for 43 years, retiring last August. He and his wife, the former Marilyn Cawood, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, divorced in the mid-1990s. She died May 16, 2008.
Martin said Kristen, who turns 43 on April 25; the quads and the four grandchildren still get together at Christmas. He enjoys “a lot of good memories” of the birth and telling the story of how his petite-looking wife looked full-term during her pregnancy at three months.
“I told her I think you can get more than one in there,” he said.
An ultrasound almost three months before the birth showed only three babies. After the babies came home, he recalled generous clothing and food donations from neighbors and a private company donating a semi-truck of diapers to the family.
He said there were some issues raising quads, but nothing out of the ordinary of raising kids.
“In the long run, they turned out great,” he said.
Today, Joel is looking forward to having dinner with the siblings who live in Michigan and remembering about growing up together as a family.
“We always reminisce about Mom and the good times we had with her. She was a great woman,” he said.
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