At 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, in a room filled with about 30 nurses and doctors, Thad Hathaway’s wife Diane gave birth to three boys and two girls.
The family was expecting quintuplets and is mourning the loss of one stillborn baby girl.
“The other four, however, are doing great,” said Thad Hathaway, WSU Athletics assistant director of Academic Support Services, academic counselor for the baseball and men’s basketball teams. “They are gaining weight and growing.”
The newborns are in the neonatal intensive care unit at University of Washington Medical Center. Thad Hathaway said they will be monitored in incubators for a couple of weeks because they were born before week 37 of the pregnancy. The family is hoping to return home to Pullman by Christmas.
Co-workers in WSU Athletics are doing their part, and more, to help the family.
“We are trying to get the word out to the community about how challenging and unique it is to have so many babies,” said Pam Bradetich, senior associate director of athletics, student-athletes and staff development.
She set up a trust account at US Bank for the family. People can donate at any branch by asking for The Hathaway Quintuplets Pullman Washington trust fund.
The Athletics Department facilitated efforts to tie in the Hathaway donations with the Combined Fund Drive, Bradetich said. On Oct. 13, the department held a chili cook-off. There was a baby sipper cup next to each chili pot, and whichever chili had the most money in it’s sipper cup moved into the final round. The money in the cups was deposited into the trust account.
The WSU men’s basketball and baseball teams held pay-to-shoot and pay-to-pitch events to collect money for the family during Homecoming Week in October. Together, the teams raised $2,900.
More than $3,000 has been raised and deposited in the trust fund for the family, Bradetich said.
In addition, students are leading an effort to contact local and regional car dealerships to provide a vehicle large enough to seat the family, Bradetich said.
She also said planning is in progress with local businesses and contractors to renovate the Hathaway’s basement to provide additional bedrooms, a bathroom and a family room. Volunteers and donations are needed to complete the project by spring, she said.
For more information about the US Bank account or how to donate to the family, contact Pam Bradetich at pamb@wsu.edu or 335-0284. For more updates, please visit the Hathaway’s website ONLINE @ www.hathawayquintuplets.com
