Evonne Derrico Delivers Quintuplets At Arizona Hospital; Las Vegas Family Grows To 11
Las Vegas resident Evonne Derrico, 33, successfully delivered quintuplets last Friday between 11:17 and 11:21 a.m. at Banner Desert Medical Center in Arizona. Evonne and her husband Deon are already parents to a 7-year-old daughter, a 3-year-old son, and a set of 1-year-old twin boys.
“We are all doing great. Excited is an understatement,” the happy father told the Las Vegas Sun. “We have a vehicle for the family right now, but we don’t have a vehicle for the five others. There’s just so much to figure out.”
Evonne was pregnant for 32 weeks and two days, a month longer than the national average for quintuplets, the Associated Press reported. Back in March, doctors told the couple to expect quadruplets; however, two days later, they found out about a fifth child in the womb.
In accord with a family tradition, all of the newborns were given names starting with the letter “D,” including Deniko, Dariz, Deonee, Daician, and Daiten. The children’s weight ranged from 1 lb. 14 oz. to 2 lbs. 15 oz.
The Derrico quintuplets are expected to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cardon Children’s Medical Center for several weeks so doctors can effectively monitor their health. The family that temporarily relocated to Arizona to receive care from perinatologist and multiple birth specialist Dr. John Elliot will move back to Las Vegas after the children are cleared by doctors.
This past May, Fernando and Guillermina Garcia from Utah welcomed their quintuplets at University Hospital in Salt Lake City. Esmeralda, Fatima, Marissa, Jordan, and Fernando Garcia were all delivered via Cesarean section in a span of two minutes. Unlike the Derrico family, the Garcia family required the assistance of fertility drugs to become pregnant.