Local charity honors parents for a triple Feat
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

KAREN BOWES Jennifer and Jay Adamo, Barnegat, pose with their 10-month-old triplets, Vincent, Alexis and Lidia, at the Michael's Feat BBQ, held Saturday in Matawan.

MATAWAN - As the proud parents of 10-month-old triplets, Jennifer and Jay Adamo go through about 24 diapers a day.

"We make formula by the gallon," joked the new father on Saturday afternoon, bouncing baby Alexis in one hand and grasping a three-seated stroller in the other.

On Saturday, the multitasking Barnegat parents were honored by Michael's Feat, a nonprofit that helps local families with sick babies, with the Heather-Rose Tribute to Courage award. Held on the picnic grounds of St. Clement's Roman Catholic Church, Route 79, the picnic was well attended despite the stifling heat.

But as baby Lidia bounced to MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" and baby Vincent blew raspberries atop mommy's lap, it was hard to believe that these plump little butterballs were ever sick enough to require six weeks of around-the-clock attention in a neonatal intensive care unit.

CHRIS KELLY staff Morgan Cassidy, 8, Highlands, makes her own sand art during the Michael's Feat BBQ, held at St. Clement's Church on Saturday. Cassidy covers one eye because of a sight problem.

Michael's Feat may have chosen Saturday to celebrate the parents, but the group gave the Adamos their most cherished gift months ago: five nights of uninterrupted sleep. The group supplied five evenings of respite care, courtesy of Bayada Nurses, at-home specialists who provided the service at a discount.

"It made the world of difference," Jay Adamo said.

Born two months premature in September, the triplets suffered from apnea spells, fits of shallow breathing that often led to no breathing at all, explained the parents. After being sent home, each of the newborns was attached to an apnea monitor, which sent out "an ear-piercing beep" whenever a baby experienced a spell.

"We would rub their backs just to get them to remember to breathe," Jay Adamo explained, adding the incidents usually occurred while the babies were sleeping or eating. The apnea spells lasted for the first six weeks the babies were home.

"And there was a scare of a spinal cyst," said Jennifer Adamo, referring to Vincent while listing the babies' other complications. Lidia, for example, was born with a hole in her heart. Vincent suffered from acid reflux. Both conditions no longer exist, the parent said.

"We have about a million people praying for us," said Jay Adamo.

Michael's Feat co-founder Dana Puharic, of Aberdeen, was pleased to assist the new family. Along with husband Adam, Puharic established the memorial fund in memory of her son, Michael Gerard, who died in 2000 at 4 days old from a chromosome disorder. On Saturday, Dana Puharic said she is proud of the organization's latest milestone, creating a family resource room at the neonatal intensive care unit at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch.

"So many of these families have babies that have grown up and are here now as toddlers," Dana Puharic said on Saturday while taking a break from her duties as master of ceremonies.

By all means a success story, the Adamo triplets fit in well at the picnic, just another gaggle of giggling and healthy babies enjoying the hits of the '60s, '70s and '80s.