Taking her quadruplets home from the hospital one at a time will buy Adirine Valenzuela some time to find another place to live.
When all the babies have joined their parents and older brother and sister at home, they will put the family in violation of their subsidized-housing agreement– and the family has been told it must move.
Under Section 8 housing regulations, the Valenzuelas are allowed two people per bedroom. Their family of eight is two too many for their three-bedroom Livermore home. Their landlord has told them they have to go.
“He told me that when I was in the hospital,” said Valenzuela, who spent five months on bed rest before giving birth.
The first of the quads, born 12 weeks premature, is scheduled to be discharged this week from the intensive-care nursery at Summit Medical Center in Oakland. As the others get stronger, they will be released one at a time. With little money and six children, Valenzuela, 36, says she hasn’t been able to look for another home.
“I talked to her and put it in writing that she has to look for another place to stay. Legally, I’ve done my job,” said property owner Don Sabin. He said he will let the Valenzuelas stay until they find another place to live.
Finding another house is not all Valenzuela is facing. Before she discovered her fertility treatments had resulted in a tiny foursome, she lost both of her jobs.
And for the last two months, she and her husband have watched their babies struggle with multiple health problems.
Cassandra and Pedro, who each weighed 2 pounds at birth, have apnea and bradycardia, conditions fairly typical of newborns that cause their heart rates to fluctuate. Pedro may need surgery on his retinas to prevent blindness. Johnathan, who also weighed 2 pounds, may have cerebral palsy.
“It seems like everyday I go (to the hospital) it’s something new,” Valenzuela said. “It’s been hard.”
