A father, who has been left to care for his newborn quadruplets after his wife died during childbirth, has received nearly $285,000 from kind donators online.
Carlos Morales' wife, Erica, 36, became pregnant after receiving IVF treatment. Shortly after, she found out that she was going to be blessed with not one, but four babies.
But, tragically, the mother-to-be went into labour and, after undergoing a C-section, she died from hypovolemic shock, an emergency condition which causes a severe amount of blood loss.
"We were so excited to start our family," Carlos, 29, from Phoenix, Arizona told People. "And then it all came crashing down."
But even the darkest clouds have a silver lining, as all four babies - three girls and one boy - were safely delivered.
Now, the heartbroken father needs to grieve for his wife, while also caring (and financially supporting) his four newborn babies.
"She was fine, and then she wasn’t. She was alive and then she was just gone," said Morales.
"I went from having the best day of my life to the next morning experiencing the worst day of my life. My four babies came into the world and then my wife died."
Erica Morales' best friend, Nicole Todman, has now set up a GoFundMe page for people to donate to Carlos in order to help him bring up his four offspring.
On the site, Todman writes: "We are raising money to provide for four beautiful babies left behind after their mother passed away just hours after their birth - any amount is appreciated.
"My best friend and her husband Carlos have tried for the last few years to have a baby and with their doctor's help they were blessed with not one but four beautiful children, but with that blessing came the most unimaginable tragedy.
"My best friend was lost."
She adds: "The expense of raising four children alone is quite daunting for any middle class family. Now, with the loss of Erica's income, her husband will need all the help he can get."
"This is an extremely emotional time, Erica's passing is traumatic and my goal is to help ease the financial worry as much as possible. Every dollar helps - if it's $1 or $1000 - it will all be used to provide for the beautiful babies Erica fought so hard to have and in the end gave her life for."
Donations for Carlos and Erica's babies have now flooded in from far and wide on the GoFund page. The grand total so far is just shy of $285K.
Now, Carlos' sole focus is on his babies. Two of his children – Paisley and Erica – remain in hospital, where the devoted father visits them each day. Meanwhile, Carlos Jr. and Tracey are now back at home being cared for by Morales' mother-in-law.
"Everything I do now is for my children," said Carlos. "I'm learning everything from how to give them a bath, CPR, feeding, and how to manage their sleep schedule. I need to be prepared."
