Back in 2021, a mom named Shanel received some bad news. Doctors diagnosed her with prolactinoma, a type of brain tumor. She had been feeling unusual symptoms recently and she was caught off guard by the diagnosis. The non-cancerous tumor is known to cause infertility, but apparently, that didn't apply to Shanel. Two years later, she was pregnant with triplets.
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With her diagnosis, Shanel thought she would never become pregnant again. The then mom of a 3-year-old continued her life normally when, in 2023, noticed some symptoms had appeared. These included headaches and nausea. "Pregnancy was not even on my mind since I hadn't had my period in those years," Shanel told PEOPLE. "Out of curiosity I took a pregnancy test and it came out positive."
False positives happen from time to time, so Shanel scheduled an appointment with her doctor. Pregnancy was the last thing on her mind. Imagine Shanel and the doctor's surprise when three babies appeared in the ultrasound, shocking them both.
"I immediately began crying. I was in pure disbelief," said Shanel. She is the first one in her family to have triplets, with twins running in her family. "I had gone alone to my appointment that day and when I got out, I didn't know who to tell first. I called my sister, then my mom, and both were crying with happiness."
A Difficult Pregnancy
Shanel's pregnancy was everything but easy. She began bleeding at 13 weeks and doctors found that she had partial placenta abruption. "I was told by my doctor to have full bed rest as the pregnancy progressed," Shanel said. "Every doctor's appointment I had, I was already having mild contractions. I felt so trapped. I was scared to go out and risk losing the babies"
At 26 weeks, doctors discovered that her contractions were just two minutes apart. She was prescribed medication to help her babies mature their lungs. Eventually, since she was too dilated in a later appointment, doctors performed an emergency C-section. The triplets, Aydan, Axel, and Aryan, were born on May 10, 2024. The three weigh 2 pounds each.
Due to their premature birth, they had to spend three months in the NICU. "I would go every day to visit them and was able to see them grow from 2 lbs. each to 5 lbs. each the day they were released," said Shanel. She became friends with other moms in the NICU and, later, began sharing her story on TikTok, gaining a lot of support and over 22,000 followers.
"I want to continue to share my journey with people, with the goal of helping young moms that are struggling like I was," Shanel said. "I feel social media is very powerful and it can open many doors."
