How Triplets Born With a 1 in 500 Trillion-Chance Skull Defect Defied All Odds

During a routine visit with their obstetrician, Amy and Mike Howard were overjoyed to find out they were expecting. As the couple processed the news, the sonogram technician detected another baby . . . and another. Within the span of a few minutes, Amy and Mike learned they were expecting triplets. "I was terrified. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the idea, to be honest," Amy candidly explained in an interview with Today.

Upon giving birth to three boys — Hunter, Jackson, and Kaden — Amy and Mike received some more unexpected news: they were all born with craniosynostosis, a rare birth defect wherein the skull is unable to develop properly due to the plates fusing together too early. They were the first set of triplets to all be born with craniosynostosis. Not only that, the chance of each boy having the same rare condition is one in 500 trillion, according to CBS New York.

Since the condition can cause damage to the brain later in life, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, Dr. David Chesler, recommended that they each have surgery. Of the surgery, Mike told Today, "I was very freaked out. Any time you have to put the baby [in an operating room], it's a little crazy."

Following the successful surgery, Hunter, Jackson, and Kaden had to wear helmets nearly all day for the next six-to-nine months. Fortunately, they recovered incredibly well and their parents are looking forward to having some normalcy. Well, their new version of normalcy, that is. Amy explained, "The babies want to be picked up all at the same time. It is a little bit hectic, especially around bed time."